Tunnel of Secrets
by Kimberleg
Summary: Legolas, his lover Anié, his father Thranduil, his father's guard Idhrenion and Anié's friend Maeglin go out to find their missing soldiers, but soon discover much more as dark secrets from the past are revealed.
1. Chapter 1

**Tunnel of Secrets**

The doors of the Great Hall swung open with a loud bang as the mighty and proud King of Mirkwood strode into the room, his large cloak swishing and swaying behind him and a frustrated look on his face. He had received a written message saying that a messenger had come with bad news concerning the King's scouts. That was all he needed to know.

"Let me guess" the King stated clearly before the Messenger could even open his mouth to speak.

"They've just disappeared off the face of the earth".

"Not all" the messenger said carefully, desperate to make the situation not seem as bad as it truly was.

"One did return – he was the one who sent me to give you this message. Though where he is now, I do not know".

"He'll have disappeared too" the King said, sighing heavily and slumping into his throne in despair.

He placed his head in his hand and a silence filled the Hall. Eventually, the King broke it with his firm, clear voice.

"This has been happening for months. We have lost too many men – soon, we shall no defence at all!"

"Perhaps it is the work of …"

The messenger's voice faltered. The expression on the King's face compelled him to go on.

"… of the South, your Majesty. Perhaps their plan is to destroy our defence completely by taking all our scouts and soldiers so they can launch an attack on us?"

"That is a possibility" the King said, his voice still heavy with frustration.

Once again, an awkward silence filled the air.

"Shall I send recruits to search for bodies, your Majesty?" the messenger asked, choosing his words with caution.

"No!" the King replied strongly.

"For the sake of the Valar, send no more. Are there any others out there?"

"Only those in the Three Trees, your Majesty" the messenger replied.

The King nodded. His voice now contained a tinge of sadness.

"Very well. Go and tell the families of those who have disappeared what has happened".

The messenger bowed low before the King and started to leave.

"Wait!" the King suddenly called, causing the messenger to suddenly turn around.

"Alert my son. He will want to know. Tell him also that I would like to see him for a meeting as soon as possible. Call all the other members of the council as well. This must end".

The messenger bowed again and left. The King Thranduil sat in his throne and sighed to himself. Mirkwood was growing weaker; the darkness was spreading and he didn't know how he was going to stop it. He could not allow evil to destroy his home and the home of his people, but equally, he could not defend his people against it – it was far too strong, even for him.

For centuries beyond count, Mirkwood and Thranduil's palace had stood strong and hidden against the powers of Mordor, especially against the evil of Dol Guldur in the south. But for how much longer?


	2. Chapter 2

The room was thick with heat and the sun coated it in a glorious golden colour. It matched the Prince's hair perfectly as it arrayed itself over the Prince's sweat-covered back. His muscles tightening and contracting, forcing his body backwards and forwards with his lips firmly fixed on Anié's, the Prince's body moving like ripples of waves in the sea, making Anié beg for more and for the pleasure to forever continue. With one final push, he thrust himself inside his beautiful wife one last time, causing both of them to shake and shudder with pleasure.

All was silent save for the sound of wet, tender, succulent lips kissing and parting constantly. Legolas passionately kissed the swan-like neck of his wife under her chin as she sighed and chuckled quietly, holding her lover close.

Eventually, Legolas rolled onto his back and exhaled heavily, all his energy now spent. Anié leant over onto her stomach and laid her head on the magnificent chest of her Prince, tracing his ribs with her fingertips. Her hair was so soft to the touch that the sensation of it falling like soft rain upon his chest thrilled the Prince. He held her close to him and they sighed together, both of them deeply immersed in a world of contentment and bliss.

"Wonderful" she whispered. "As always".

Legolas looked down at her and smiled. It was that little smile on his face that made her heart skip a beat, as it always did. She was by no means anywhere near his high status, but she was head-over-heels in love with him – every time she saw him, she was thrilled to the bone by him. His presence was enough to make her feel loved and special, but when he approached her that evening and she felt his lips brush past hers as he asked her to come with him to his chambers, she knew their love bond had been secured forever.

Legolas felt the same way about her. She was so beautiful, so very, very beautiful; he could not describe it in words. They had spent many long years together in Mirkwood and through all the good times and the bad times, they had been strong and in all the years to come, easy and difficult, he would never let her go. He simply could not lose her, he loved her so much.

As the smile spread over his face, he leant down and kissed her once again, his hand supporting the back of her head and feeling its way through layers upon layers of gloriously soft, chocolate-coloured hair. Their tongues danced together within their mouths and they never wanted this moment to end.

Unfortunately, it did. Rather abruptly, there was a series of loud knocks at the door.

"Prince Legolas?" called the faint voice of the messenger from outside the door.

More knocks followed.

"Prince Legolas? Your father wishes to see you as soon as possible for an important council meeting".

After a short pause, more knocks ensued (which the couple ignored as much as possible) and the messenger continued to call the prince's name. Legolas sighed, irritated.

"I don't want to go" he sighed.

"I'll come with you" Anié said, attempting to comfort him.

"I'm part of the council; your father shall no doubt want me to attend".

Legolas held her hand and brought it up so it rested just beneath his chin.

"I want to stay here with you".

She smiled, feeling the same way. She lightly kissed his knuckles and looked into his deep, sapphire eyes.

"We can always come back" she said encouragingly.

"I haven't given you your full share of pleasure yet".

Wicked smiles spread over their faces as Legolas chuckled and kissed his wife again. As the insistent knocking continued, Legolas hauled himself out of bed and pulled on a large gown. He then opened the door so the messenger could see him and not Anié.

"What is the council for?" Legolas asked.

"More scouts have gone missing" the messenger replied.

"More?" said Legolas, exasperation in his voice.

He sighed and hung his head disbelief.

"That's exactly how your father feels, my Prince".

Legolas nodded a little, imagining his father sitting in his throne, desperate to destroy evil once and for all, as he was. He lifted his head to face the messenger, said "I will be there shortly" before swiftly shutting the door.

Once the door was once again shut, Legolas pulled off his gown and walked over to his wardrobe, debating which of his many court robes to wear. Anié sat up in bed, the sheet covering her breasts and she gazed at the naked form of her husband standing not far from the bed, studying every aspect of it in great detail.

"I know you're looking" said Legolas without even looking at her.

Anié chuckled.

"How could I not? Your body looks as though it has been perfectly carved from marble".

As Legolas pulled his tights and lower garments on, he walked over to her and gently held her chin, saying:

"If I am carved from marble, what are you carved from?"

"Rotting wood" Anié replied, jesting.

Legolas tutted and shook his head, trying to catch a glimpse of her perfectly-formed breasts from under the bed-sheet.

"Anié, you mustn't say such things. Your body is too beautiful for that. Far too beautiful …"

He leant forwards and lightly kissed her neck whilst breathing softly down her neck and shoulders, thrilling her easily.

"Your skin is like silk – so soft and beautiful to touch. So perfect … oh Anié, your body is beyond words …"

Anié chuckled, delighting in the sensations and the compliments Legolas was giving her.

"Alright, alright, that's enough!" she said laughing gently, pushing Legolas off.

"Your father will get impatient".

She too left the bed and started getting dressed. Legolas pulled on his silver Mirkwood shirt that suited him so beautifully. After taking his fair share of gazing at her naked form, he sneaked up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and tugged her ear with his teeth.

"Stop it!" laughed Anié.

She picked up her dark red shirt (which also fitted her perfectly) and tried to put it on over her head, but every time she tried, Legolas pulled it down away from her head so he could continue kissing her. This went on for some time and Anié's threats of what she would do to Legolas if he didn't stop didn't seem to be working. Eventually, he let her go and she pulled it on.

"Have you no self-control, Prince of Mirkwood?" Anié asked, smiling and with her arms wrapped round the handsome prince.

"Not when you're standing near naked before me" he replied, securing his lips upon hers for the last time.

"Come on" she said.

"We have to go".

Although they did not want these moments of passion to end, they knew they had their duties and responsibilities. Legolas followed Anié out of the bedroom, closing the door quietly behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

As Legolas and Anié walked into the room, they saw that many men of the court were already there. They all stood to greet them. With one polite bow of his head, they acknowledged their presences and they sat down. Anié smiled as she saw her friend, Maeglin, bow down to her with a smile on his face.

Maeglin was, without doubt, Anié's best and most loyal friend. She had known him for years beyond count and they had gone through many difficult times together. Anié's family had rejected her and Maeglin lived alone – as all his family had been killed by marauding Orcs – so they dwelt together in a little cave, often hoping for death. One day, whilst on a scout, Legolas found the cave and there found Anié, which was where they first met. Legolas took Anié to shelter, but Maeglin remained hidden, as he feared the outside world greatly, as did Anié for a time. Until a few years ago, Anié did not even know that Maeglin was still alive, but by chance, they met in Mirkwood after numerous years of separation.

The couple placed one hand on their chests and bowed to the King, who bowed his head back in return, gesturing to them to sit beside him. The bodyguard of the King, Idhrenion, a loyal elven guard, remained standing beside the King. Once Legolas and Anié had taken their seats, the council meeting began.

Thranduil stood to speak:

"I apologize for calling you all so urgently and my thanks that you have all come so loyally, but I have called you here to discuss an important and seriously grave matter."

"As you may have heard, all of the scouts sent out from the last scouting trip have disappeared. It is too dangerous to send a search party after them, but I am sure you will all agree with me when I say this has to end!"

Shouts and cheers of agreement filled the room.

"Erynion" called the King.

One of the Elves of the council, Erynion, one of the scout leaders, stood and turned his eyes towards the King.

"How many have we now lost?" asked the King, secretly dreading the answer.

The elf thought for a brief moment and then answered: "Countless, my liege, but an exact figure would be around thirty".

The King nodded and the elf sat back down.

"This is too many. We cannot risk losing anymore. We do not know what fate these brave soldiers are left to" the King continued, "nor do we know where they are or who is taking them, but I will not allow my people to be simply picked off one by one and taken from their wives and families!"

More shouts of agreement erupted from all areas of the Hall. Thranduil waited for the noise to die down before continuing:

"I wish to discover what is happening to our soldiers and sending out more troops to look for those already missing is futile and only sending more sheep to the slaughter house, but I see only one option: this afternoon, I intend to travel to the place where our soldiers keep disappearing and find out who or what is there".

"No!" was Legolas' immediate response.

He stood and faced his father.

"_Ada_, I must protest – we cannot lose you. Whatever or whoever is doing this, we could be walking right into the heart of their trap".

Thranduil considered Legolas' words in his mind before saying:

"Who will come with me to discover the source of this evil?"

Many were hesitant, much to Thranduil's displeasure. After a moment's pause, the voice of a wise member of the council spoke up:

"May I suggest, your Highness, that it may first be prudent to establish what exactly the threat might be before attempting to find it?"

"A wise suggestion" Thranduil responded.

"Any suggestions?"

Silence once again as everyone delved deep in thought.

"Well…" a more experienced member of the council began, "it is clear that it is not a single person doing this - they would've been spotted by now".

"It is possible it could be some evil from the South" another council member spoke up, an Elf Legolas recognised as one of the military leaders, "but we have seen no uprisings, save the occasional groups who constantly pose a small and occasional threat, and any advances would have been noted and reported by scouts".

Agreement rippled through all those present, save one:

"Is it not possible that each uprising has achieved in obliterating our defences, thus preventing any news coming from scouts?" asked a slightly cynical member who was more afraid of evil from the South than most.

"One or perhaps two events could happen" replied the military Elf, "but every single event is simply not possible!"

"Could sorcery be involved?" suggested a younger and newer member of the Council.

"But from whom?" another more experienced and more grounded member asked.

"The dark menace in the South is more than capable of performing such malice" the younger Elf responded, his seriousness and the truthfulness of his statement filled himself and other members with dread.

"Another important question that is not being asked is where the bodies are going" pointed out the same Elf who had suggested the members discuss those possibly responsible. The fact that he used the word 'bodies', implying they had been obliterated increased the gloominess of the ambience and the council's general dislike of his tone.

Another Elf agreed:

"They cannot simple disappear, and no-one has found any corpses, so one can only assume they are being captured and hidden somewhere".

"If we knew the answer to that question, we would not be here discussing it" Maeglin put bluntly but quite rightly.

Despite his chastising comment, numerous members of the council continued on debating where their missing soldiers could possibly be (some of the suggestions made were deemed absurd, such as the bodies being sent off downstream into unknown lands or being eaten) and who could be responsible. Their debating seemed to go on for hours and appeared endless; Thranduil contributed nothing – not even a nod or shake of the head to show who he agreed with – but just simply sat and listened to what they had to say. Anié looked across unobtrusively to Legolas, who almost had his head in his hands – this is ridiculous, he thought, we're doing nothing but wasting time.

Suddenly, completely out of the blue, a voice who did not often speak in such council meetings waited for an opportune pause in conversation, and then suggested an astonishing possibility:

"What about the _ifanc gwanath_?"

The Hall fell deadly silent and all eyes turned to the man who had spoken. The man's eyes moved from face to face, studying their reactions with great interest. It felt like a great length of time had passed before anyone spoke up:

"A myth" responded a council member, chuckling with nervous laughter.

"A fireplace horror story!"

"Do you think the families of the victims believe so?"

The chuckling stopped. Some of the Elves lowered their heads and most felt very uncomfortable. There was an awkward silence which no-one dared to break, nor knew exactly how. The man extended his hands sideways in a motion similar to shrugging with the words 'It's a possibility, isn't it?' written across his face.

The tale of the _ifanc gwanath_, reading literally in the Common Tongue as 'death child' – called so because of the size described by those who claim to have seen it, and the fate that followed in its footsteps - was one that no Mirkwood Elf ever spoke of anymore, as only the very naïve believed it to be nothing more than a 'fireplace horror story' – the evidence was too disturbing to ignore.

Some years ago, a millennium or so after the beginning of the Third Age of Middle Earth – the Elves do not count the years as Mortals do, so an exact date or year is very difficult to calculate – bodies began to appear in the forest, men who left their homes and never returned. They were not terribly numerous in number, but every few weeks the people would learn that another had been found. Their bodies were mangled and mutilated, drenched in their own blood. There was no pattern to the murders, no single location, no particular target of victims (although it was normally men, as it was they who ventured out most often into the forest on scouts) – anyone and everyone was at risk.

The situation became worse when a couple of people were murdered in their own homes. Stories and rumours began to spread, even to those in further-off lands by word-of-mouth of the occasional traveller. People said that the killer must have been small to fit through people's windows and to creep into houses unnoticed, so the Elves naturally blamed the Dwarves (though many quite rightly pointed out that Dwarves were so loud and 'stompy', they could not possibly enter a building unnoticed, especially not in an Elven land). Others said that it must have been a demon or someone possessed by an evil spirit from the darkness – combining the two theories, perhaps the ghost of a Dwarf seeking revenge on the Elves, a ghost that drank blood. Some claimed to have seen the child walking alone through the forest like a lonely phantom.

Regardless of which theory you believed, the tale spread and became embedded in people's minds, to the extent that people feared to scout too far into the forest, for fear of encountering the child of death.

Although seen only by few and never put down as fact, the tale ends with the brutal slaughtering of an entire family in their home – bodies hanging from the ceiling or lying mutilated beyond recognition in their beds, adults and infants alike. Interestingly, no-one to this day knows the identity of the butchered family and the killer was never found. Everyone in the council knew this tale all too well and no-one wanted the man's suggestion to be true or right.

"Enough!" announced Thranduil weightily, breaking the trance-like state that had come over the assembled group.

"Since there appears to be no other solution, I intend to seek the culprit out personally".

Legolas was stunned by such a notion, but support seemed to be heavily on the side of the King.

"I will join you, my liege" said Idhrenion clearly, standing tall and loyal beside his King.

King Thranduil smiled.

"_Hannon le, Idhrenion_, my loyal guard" thanked the King.

He turned back to the council: "I do not wish to take too large a group – people can go missing too easily that way. Therefore I shall no more than five. Who will join Idhrenion and me?"

Legolas stood:

"If you are to leave, I leave with you" he stated quietly yet clearly.

"And I" said Anié, standing beside Legolas.

Legolas looked at her with an expression saying 'Stay here' but Anié was determined to stay by her lover's side and never to leave it.

"It will be dangerous" Legolas told her.

"I know, Legolas" she replied calmly.

Eventually, Legolas gave in and agreed. As soon as he did this, Maeglin stood and also asked to come with them.

"That is enough" the King stated.

"We five shall go and discover what is taking our soldiers. We do not what form this evil takes, nor do we know where it dwells, but I promise you that we shall return victorious!"

Roars of encouragement were all that could be heard as Thranduil stood and left the Great Hall to prepare to ride out that afternoon.


	4. Chapter 4

When the sun was high in the sky, the King, his son, his daughter-in-law, his bodyguard and his guest were all on horseback, waiting to depart the palace. When Mirkwood had been placed in the secure hands and protection of the council left behind and Thranduil had said a few words of hope to the people watching them go, they all set off at a steady pace. They were in no great hurry, but Thranduil said he would like to be there before sunset – they could be more easily attacked in the dark. No-one save Thranduil knew for certain where they were going.

Maeglin rode alongside Anié, who rode alongside Legolas, who rode alongside his father, who had his bodyguard riding alongside him. All of them were armed – Thranduil and Maeglin carried swords and Legolas, Anié and Idhrenion also carried bows and arrows. They rode for many miles, deep into the heart of the forest of Mirkwood, all keeping alert for any signs of evil or evil-doers.

Eventually, approximately an hour before sunset, Thranduil called them to stop.

"Here" he said, dismounting from his horse.

The others followed in dismounting. They were in a rather small clearing and each of them watched different spaces in the trees for any sign of shadows moving. Idhrenion had already fitted an arrow to the string of his bow in case he needed to protect his King particularly quickly. There were no signs of any bodies or blood – it was completely empty.

They all stood there in absolute silence, simply watching. Suddenly, Anié cried out, her eyes wide and a finger outstretched before her:

"There!"

All eyes turned to the dark area she was pointing at. No-one else could see anything but darkness.

"What is it?" asked Legolas.

"I saw something moving in the shadows" Anié replied, her hand on the beautifully crafted hilt of her sword.

Idhrenion's bow was lifted, ready to fire, as was Legolas'. Maeglin had drawn his sword. Thranduil drew no weapon, but called out in a clear voice:

"If someone is there, show yourself".

Silence followed.

"We will not harm you if you have no desire to harm us".

A shorter period of silence followed before the shadow replied.

"I come in peace".

The voice was masculine, calm and almost melodic and did not sound like one who disliked them. Within the shadow, a tall, thin figure emerged with its arms open as a sign of peace and friendship. As the figure stepped out of the shadows, it became clear to the group that it was of no threat to them, so Anié removed her hand from her sword and Legolas lowered his bow.

The male figure was dressed in pale robes, though not finely tailored ones like the robes Thranduil and Legolas wore. He was also unnaturally pale and his eyes were almost sunken into their sockets, causing shadows to surround them. His face was vaguely skull-like, like someone who has been seriously ill for sometime. He had long brown hair and was clearly unarmed.

Thranduil stood tall and showed his authority as he commanded:

"Tell me your name".

"I do not have one" the man replied, clearly not intimidated by the King of Mirkwood, or by the armed warriors that stood before him.

"Then tell me – what is your business here?" Thranduil asked, determined for answers.

The man cocked his head sideways, as if answering a silly question.

"You summoned me" he replied.

"You asked me to come out, and so I came".

Thranduil was becoming frustrated.

"Do you know of anyone or anything in this area that has been attacking the soldiers or Mirkwood? Have you seen any people taken away or killed of late?"

The man thought for a moment.

"I do not believe so" he replied.

"Why do you ask?"

"There have been several disappearances recently" the King replied, "and we wish to discover the cause of it".

"I see …" the man said, almost to himself.

A silence followed that frustrated Thranduil more so.

"If you have no more information for us, then we must go" stated Thranduil, moving to remount his horse.

"I have a friend who may know" the man said suddenly, yet still with a strong element of calmness.

Thranduil turned suddenly to him.

"Do you? And where might this friend of yours be?"

"He dwells not far from this place" the man replied.

"You could easily reach it by sunset".

He slowly lifted his head to the sky.

"The darkness grows with every minute spent here talking".

He lowered his head just as slowly and looked directly into the eyes of the King once again.

"If you wish to arrive there soon, you should leave now".

Thranduil thought for a moment and then looked to the others for their thoughts. Idhrenion and Legolas looked uncertain, whereas Anié and Maeglin saw no harm in the man. If he led them to any danger, they could easily defeat it and they could even more easily kill him, if that sort of action was necessary. After hearing their opinions and thoughts in his mind, Thranduil turned back to the man and said:

"Very well. You will take us to this friend of yours. But we warn you now – should you lead us to any harm, you will pay heavily for it".

"No harm shall come to you from my own hand, I promise you that" he said.

"But I must warn _you_, King of Mirkwood – my friend has a way of seeing things that many eyes cannot, even the eyes of the elves".

Thranduil looked into the face of the man and was disturbed by it. His words worried him slightly and the expression on the faces of his son and his bodyguard as they exchanged looks of distrust worried him even more so, but he showed none of it and the man seemed of no harm to them for now, so on horseback, they followed him at a slow and steady pace.

Legolas was the last to leave, as he was reluctant to follow this stranger, but quickly rode up beside his father. Speaking without sound, he said to his father:

"I do not trust this man".

"He seems of no threat to us" Thranduil replied, equally as silent.

"I do not believe he is leading us to a place or a person who can help us" Legolas continued.

"We could be walking directly into a trap".

"We know not where we are being led, but I will not leave my soldiers to die or suffer any form of torment from the enemy. Besides, we have the greatest archer in Middle Earth with us, amongst a group of highly skilled, highly trained warriors – what could face us that we could not defeat?"

Thranduil looked over at his son and smiled, trying to encourage him. Legolas returned his father's look with a small and brief smile, but lack of trust still reigned strong in his heart.

"Fear not, Legolas, my son. I am no fool. I am on my guard just as you are. If this man can help us in any way, then so be it – the more information we have, the better. I just want my people to be safe".

Legolas smiled, understanding his father perfectly. He trusted his father and would follow him anywhere. He even had a ring from his father with the words 'To wherever it may lead' engraved on it and he intended to stick to that.

He then felt a warm presence beside him and realised that Anié had ridden up to join his side. They smiled at each other and held hands as they rode on together, having no idea what was awaiting them and yet walking straight into it, like blind children led to the slaughter house.


	5. Chapter 5

Darkness crept across the skies over the forest as the small company reached the man's house. They were literally on the outskirts of the forest and sitting there, was a small cottage-like house, hidden away from everything else. What was odd about this house was that although it had one door, there were no windows and no other holes in the building. Thranduil wondered to himself how and why he had never seen this place before – he knew the entire of Mirkwood perfectly, so how had this place been missed?

"There" the man said, pointing to the house.

"That is where my friend dwells".

Thranduil then rode forward with great speed, forcing his steed into a gallop, swiftly overtaking the man. The group followed, leaving the man behind them. As they approached the house, there was no noise save for the horse's hooves on the earth and there was no-one around – the place was deserted.

The company approached the house and dismounted. Thranduil went first, only to be overtaken and protected by his bodyguard and his son – Anié and Maeglin stood together just behind the King. Idhrenion cautiously opened the door. It squeaked and groaned as it opened, showing clear signs of abandonment and old age and the entire of the inside of the door was covered in dust and cobwebs.

Slowly but surely, the five entered the house, all alert and curious. No-one saw where their guide was or how far behind them he was. They spread themselves out, all surrounding the King for protection. The King called out in a loud, clear voice:

"Who dwells here? Come forth, by order of the King of Mirkwood!"

Silence followed. Thranduil called again, but to no avail. The place was truly deserted with no sign of life whatsoever. Thranduil was just about to turn around and ask for the whereabouts of their guide so he could question him when suddenly …

SLAM!

The heavy wooden door slam shut behind them, still with no sign of their guide. The sound echoed throughout the little house and all heads turned towards the now-shut door. Legolas and Maeglin stepped swiftly towards the door and pushed against it. But no matter how hard they tried or how much strength they used – for these were strong men – the door would not open. Everyone else tried it too, but it simply would not budge.

"We have all been fools!" cried Legolas.

"Truly, we have been led into a trap!"

"This may be true" said Thranduil strongly,

"But perhaps our soldiers were led to this place in the same way we have been, so if they are here, we can find them and ourselves a way out".

'Or suffer the same fate' thought everyone else.

Thranduil looked around. If it was only a small house, surely finding another way out, or forcing themselves out, would not be such a problem? But as he looked around, he noticed something. In the room a few steps in front of him, there was an odd, slightly eerie glow. The room was made black because of it with a hint of occasional blue. Thranduil was curious and began to make his way towards the room, calling the others to follow. Idhrenion immediately went with his King in case what they found around the corner would do his King damage.

When Thranduil turned the corner, what he saw took him truly by surprise, as it did to the rest of the company. The mysterious light was coming from what appeared to be an enormous tunnel leading deep underground. Its entrance was large and round and the company could easily enter it if they so desired to. No-one was sure whether they wished to enter or not – Legolas was still very suspicious and Thranduil, being an Elf, and a proud one at that, was by no means keen to delve into the depths of the earth. Even the eyes of the Elves could not pierce the darkness deep within the tunnel. They all stared into it with a mixture of awe, wonder and suspicion.

"You have no need to fear it" said a voice out of nowhere.

The group then realised that the voice came from the darkness of the tunnel and out of the darkness, with arms outstretched in a welcoming gesture, was their guide who had disappeared and now reappeared suddenly like magic. Everyone, in their surprise, instantly reached for their weapons. The man seemed unalarmed and raised his open palms a little higher.

"There is no need for violence – I am no threat to you" he said calmly.

For reasons known to none of them, they all believed him.

Only Thranduil spoke.

"What is this place?" he demanded.

"It has no name as such" the guide replied, "but I call it the tunnel of secrets".

The guide's eyes were round and a piercing blue containing a look which disturbed everyone in the room. Everyone, that is, save Thranduil.

"Spare us the ridiculous titles!" he cried, clearly irritated.

"Where is this friend of yours, the one you said would help us find our missing friends?"

The guide said nothing, nor did he seem even the slightest bit concerned or put off by the King's sudden reprimand. He simply outstretched his arm backwards, his open palm gesturing towards the darkness of the tunnel.

"Enter, King of the Trees, and discover" the guide said, his voice low and calm.

He then turned slowly and disappeared once again into the darkness, his feet upon the cold floor barely making a sound. All eyes were focused on the darkness, a choice now testing their minds and hearts as to what to do next.

"Father, we should leave" said Legolas definitely, breaking the silence.

Thranduil thought for a moment before giving his final judgement:

"I will not leave my men here. I will search and I shall find".

With that, he walked into the tunnel. Idhrenion followed immediately after him. Legolas sighed exasperatedly to himself.

'Does he not see this could be a trap?' he thought to himself.

Anié understood his thoughts and held his hand as a sign of understanding and support. Maeglin, Anié and Legolas knew that they could not allow their King to walk into this strange place alone, even with his bodyguard, so with all three pairs of eyes fixed on the darkness, they walked into the darkness.


	6. Chapter 6

They walked slowly yet surely and soon, the darkness completely consumed them. There was nothing to see but the vague path in front of them, which only the eyes of the Elves could see and was wide, so all five of them could easily walk side by side down it. Thranduil and Idhrenion led the way, the other walking behind.

As they walked, Anié stopped temporarily and looked behind her. To her surprise, the room in which they were once standing was no longer there, or if it was there, the thick darkness was obscuring it from view, for there was no light behind her. She stood there, transfixed and confused, staring into the abyss from which they had just come.

Something compelled her to walk back. She began walking slowly back up the pathway until Legolas noticed she was missing, saw her leaving and swiftly called her name. Maeglin suddenly turned to watch her also. Anié made no answer to her lover's call, for she was so baffled by this enigma, she was almost taken away from reality.

Legolas began making his way swiftly to her to bring her back, until he suddenly stopped as Maeglin ran past him with a speed equal to a stag fleeing from some sudden terrifying danger. Legolas watched as Maeglin ran up to Anié and gently held her arms to stop her.

As he touched her arm, she suddenly winced and took a sharp, short intake of breath. Maeglin immediately let go and as their eyes met, she looked as though she wished nothing had happened.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked gently, concern in his voice.

"No, I'm fine" she replied almost immediately.

Changing the conversation, her eyes were drawn back to the darkness she had been walking towards. Maeglin began carefully persuading her to come back and join the group.

"Forgive me" she said after a while.

"I … I just … I don't know what came over me …"

"Not at all" said Maeglin in a soft, soothing voice that did not make itself heard often.

He gently led her back down the path. When she lifted her eyes and saw Legolas, she immediately went over to him and found comfort in his strong warm embrace. Legolas' eyes met Maeglin's and he saw a look in those eyes that he had never seen before, a look he could not name.

"Come, gentlemen" called the strong, commanding voice of King Thranduil.

"And my lady" he added on the end.

Anié released herself from Legolas' arms, looked to her King and father-in-law and nodded once, understanding her orders perfectly. They moved on down the pathway. No-one knew for exactly how long they walked, having no idea where they were going, but after a while, the darkness became less thick and an ominous glow began to form somewhere in the distance. Idhrenion placed his arm across the chest of Thranduil as a sort of barrier.

"Allow me, my Lord" he said defensively.

Thranduil nodded his head after a moment's thought and the group halted. Idhrenion drew his sword and moved slowly towards the glow. As he walked closer, he noticed it had a tinge of blue and it looked beautiful to the eye. However, Idhrenion was no fool and knew perfectly well this could be a deadly trap, so he remained on his guard.

He continued on forward until the path began to turn slightly. Idhrenion turned the corner towards the glow and the group watched as a mixed look of awe and confusion come over his face.

"What do you see, Idhrenion?" asked Thranduil, not a hint of fear in his voice.

Idhrenion seemed lost for words.

"I do not believe I can describe it, my Lord" he finally answered, "for I have never seen anything like this in my life".

"Is it safe to approach?" Thranduil asked.

Idhrenion thought for a moment and then suddenly struck the glow with his sword. Nothing happened. Not even a mark remained.

"I believe so" Idhrenion finally replied.

The group made their way forward and stared in disbelief at the glow. The glow came from a wall, smooth and flat, which stood before them. No-one could understand what the source of the light was, only the fact that the wall was indeed glowing. It looked almost like water and was very tempting to touch. But no-one dared to do such a thing – one knows it is never wise to stick your hands into mysterious and potentially dangerous objects.

Anié asked the question that was filling the minds and hearts of every person present.

"What is it?"

"I've never seen anything like it before" Maeglin remarked, staring in awe and wonder at what they had found.

"Could this have something to do with our missing soldiers?" questioned Legolas.

"Perhaps our men touched it and disappeared into … into it" wondered Idhrenion aloud, shrinking away slightly from the glowing wall.

Thranduil scanned it carefully with his sharp, keen eyes. He too had never seen anything of its kind, nor could he answer any questions in the group's minds and in his own. But before he had a chance to think, his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a cry from his son.

"Ada, look!" Legolas cried, pointing behind them.

They all turned to see what Legolas was pointing at. Behind them was a plain, ordinary wall, except for the fact that, as if by magic, writing was appearing on it. It appeared in the written language of the Elves, but a translation runs something like this:

_Welcome my friends, welcome one and all,_

_Peace! you need not fear me or the wall._

The writing stayed for a little while and then disappeared in the same manner in which it had first appeared. Shortly afterwards, a verse took its place. Thranduil read it aloud:

_Secrets that from you, long since have been hidden,_

_Terrible tales and fruits forbidden._

_This place brings forth secrets from where they reside._

_A blessing or a curse? You decide._

The writing, this time, remained. Silence fell over them.

"What does that mean?" Maeglin said, a confused expression on his face.

"Whatever it means, this is foolishness!" stated Idhrenion suddenly.

He approached Thranduil.

"My Lord, in all due respect, we do not have time to be standing around here contemplating riddles. We must discover the fate of our men with all haste!"

"I am well aware of that, Idhrenion" Thranduil immediately stated almost before Idhrenion had finished.

No-one needed to say that there was no way back – they all knew it. Their only possible escape route was to continue on down the tunnel, even though no-one knew where it went.

"Follow me" he commanded.

Thranduil began to walk down the dark, slightly foreboding path, Idhrenion constantly by his side, the group slowly but surely following behind. Maeglin followed behind the group, allowing Anié to walk by the side of her beloved. He was just about to leave the small chamber they were just in when he saw in the corner of his eye, the blue glow rippled. It kind of jolted suddenly. Then, before his eyes, he saw other colours within it – a picture was forming.

"My lord!" he called suddenly.

The group turned all turned and saw the urgent look in Maeglin's eyes as he stared at the glow. They all rushed back and they too gasped in awe as they saw colours swirling amongst the blue and a picture beginning to form. As a figure of great authority, Thranduil stood in the middle of the group, a fixed, stern expression on his face, showing no fear or indeed any emotion at all, watching what was unfolding before him.

It was some time before anyone could make out anything that was been unravelled before them. They were, however, able to hear distant cries of pain and anguish. The noises seemed to be coming from all around them, but they may well have been merely the sound bouncing off the sides of the walls. The cries were desperate and disturbing to listen to. They were not constant, but came in quick, loud bursts. There were a couple of other voices audible too – a male and some females, talking quietly amongst themselves and giving orders and commands. The cries grew louder and eventually, it became obvious to them that the cries were coming from a woman, as she begged and pleaded in desperation for help in-between screams.

Throughout all these, only vague shadows were visible before the group, who were all transfixed on the glow. Eventually, after much tense waiting, a picture became clear before them. They saw a large bed stained with water and blood and on it was a woman. By looking at the scene and remembering her cries, it was clear to them that this woman had just given birth. She looked exhausted and frighteningly pale. Around her was a doctor and a couple of nurses, one of which was holding a tiny infant, crying in her arms. The doctor had a grave look on his face and hurried the nurses away before walking over to the woman, placing two fingers on her wrist. No-one else noticed, but Thranduil's face had changed dramatically. Before, it was stern, hard, fixed and emotionless. Now, his mouth was open in disbelief, his eyes wide with shock and his face paler. It was a face of absolute horror and secretly grief-ridden as memories flooded back to him.

As the doctor briefly saw to the woman, not uttering a word, another voice became present. It began barely audible but grew dramatically in volume and soon, the person to whom the voice belonged to burst into room.

"Let me through!" the man cried.

"Let me through! Let me see her!"

It seemed that some of the other doctors did not want him in the room, but that wasn't going to stop him. The door flew open and the man ran in. He was frantic, eyes wide and full of fear. He saw the woman on the bed and stopped dead, mouth agape and his eyes even wider.

Legolas looked carefully at the man's face. Something stirred within him – where had he seen that face before? As he swiftly studied the surroundings of the room, a sudden realisation dawned on him. The room was ornately decorated with carvings of trees and leaves on the walls – even the bedposts are expertly and beautifully carved. The woman herself was beautiful beyond reckoning and wore very fine clothes. Royal clothes. Clothes fit for a queen, despite the fact that there were now stained and slightly-ragged looking after having given birth in them.

Legolas thought for a moment and then turned to his father. He did not need to see a word; the look on his father's face said it all. Thranduil's eyes were transfixed on the woman and his eyes never left her face, both in the memory and in reality.

"Tariel!" cried the frantic man, moving swiftly to the woman's side and taking her hand delicately in his own.

"Tariel …" Thranduil whispered under his breath in the tunnel.

This was Legolas' mother, wife of Thranduil. Legolas had never known his mother, nor had he ever known where she had gone. He had asked a few times in his youth, but Thranduil had never answered him, always changing the conversation or remaining silent, scolding Legolas for speaking of inappropriate and unnecessary things. He presumed she had sailed to the West, though for what reason, he did not know.

Inside, Legolas was delighted to see this memory – he had finally seen his mother for the first time, this was wonderful! A small smile even crept onto his face. Legolas was suddenly drawn back to the memory as the doctor suddenly spoke.

"It's a boy. What is the child's name?" he asked.

Thranduil turned to his wife who faintly managed to force out the word:

"Legolas".

Legolas' jaw dropped and he gasped in disbelief. Not only was he seeing his mother for the first time, but he had now actually witnessed his birth! Maybe this tunnel wasn't going to be so bad after all.

Legolas watched with anticipation as Thranduil and Tariel gazed into each other's eyes. His eyes were still wide with concern and fear, whereas hers were barely open at all. Her breaths came in deep gasps, soon becoming barely audible slithers. She was so beautiful and so, very strong…

She gripped Thranduil's soldiers, desperate to force the words out of her mouth.

"Look after him…" she begged weakly, tears appearing in her eyes.

Thranduil nodded vigorously.

"I will" he said, tears also forming in his eyes.

"And so will you. We have a son…"

He placed his palm on the side of her face, which she gently clutched, never wanting to let him go.

"Eleyond will have a brother. We'll live together …as a family … and we'll be happy together!"

Her face was becoming more and more vacant as he spoke.

"Be strong…" she pleaded with her last few breaths.

"Thranduil..."

"Tariel …" Thranduil pleaded in return, desperate not to break down in tears.

For the first time in his life, Legolas saw his father beg.

"Don't leave me".

She opened her mouth as if to speak, but then she froze, mouth open, tears in her eyes. Her eyelids fell shut as her head fell softly to the side and her final breath sailed through her partially open lips.

Thranduil stared down in disbelief at his wife. He began to shake his head, muttering to himself. As the shock took him over, he gripped his wife and screamed, desperate for this to be some terrible nightmare that he could soon awaken and recover from. He looked over his shoulder to the doctor in desperation.

"There must be something you can do!" he cried.

There was heart-breaking urgency in his eyes, but the doctor ignored it. He simply looked to the ground and turned away from the scene, starting to clear away his things. Heartless though he may appear, he knew in his heart there was nothing he could do. He knew there was this risk and so did she – she had now passed beyond his care, she was gone. The doctor spoke quiet orders to some nurses entering the room to clear up the mess and then himself left.

Thranduil refused to believe that the doctor was leaving him, leaving her. His face has turned red with his building anger and hysteria and the tears in his eyes grew too heavy to rest on his eyelids and fell silently down his cheek. When the truth slowly began to sink in, he turned back to his wife, holding her shoulders and never turning away from her face. He began to shake – he couldn't hold it in much longer.

Eventually, in a sudden fit of hysteria, cheeks now soaked in cold, wet streaks, he screamed at the top of his lungs, every inch of muscle in his body shaking, every emotion known to Elf and Man echoing loudly in that truly heart-felt cry. As Thranduil finished screaming, he bent his head and wept openly on his beloved Tariel.

Legolas watched in horror and utter grief as he watched his younger father completely break down before him. He had never seen his father in any state like this before – his father had been such a pillar of rock in his life, never breaking or bending to anyone's will apart from his own. Now nature had taken away his most valuable treasure, one that no satchel of gold could ever buy, and his father was totally broken, his heart shattered, soul crushed, life as he knew it destroyed, dreams erased … and it was all because of him. She had wanted to bring him into the world, give him life and she had sacrificed her life to give him that. Legolas wondered whether such an exchange was truly fair.

Before them all, the picture began to fade until soon, only Thranduil's dying cries and weeping could be heard, which then too faded away. The tunnel was silent - no-one dared make a sound. They were all too shocked to say anything.

Slowly, he turned around once again to face his father. His face was still fixed like stone, but he was clearly fighting hard to hold himself together and tears were present in his eyes that made Legolas' heart crack. Eventually, Thranduil's eyes left where the memory had been (which was now nothing more than a vague glow on a wall) and lowered themselves to the floor. The silence continued undisturbed until eventually, Legolas broke it.

"Ada?" he almost whispered.

Thranduil's eyes met Legolas'. Legolas' were filled with concern and grief after what he had just seen. Sharp contrast to Thranduil's, which were hard, cold and stern, almost angry.

"Let's move on!" he commanded, ever the leader.

He turned and made his way down the tunnel into the darkness. Idhrenion, a little taken off guard by the King's sudden departure, quickly ran after his King. Just before Legolas followed Idhrenion and moved swiftly after his father, he saw his father lift his sleeve to his eye in a wiping motion, yet he still walked at a strong, steady pace, remaining totally on task.

Legolas ran up beside him, abandoning his friends and over-taking Idhrenion easily.

"Ada…" he started in his mother tongue, speaking only so Thranduil would be listening.

"Ada, speak to me. What happened, what … what was that?"

"That was your mother giving birth to you, Legolas, I thought you were quicker than that" Thranduil snapped back immediately, no humour in his voice.

Legolas paused temporarily, no longer keeping pace with his father.

"So I killed her?" he asked.

Thranduil stopped dead in his tracks. All the others stopped too, slightly behind the two elves, cautiously watching the scene playing out in front of them.

"Eleyond mentioned something like that before…it is my fault she is dead?"

Eleyond was Legolas' older brother who was killed by enemies (though no-one ever knew exactly who) many years ago. Anié moved slowly forwards and touched Legolas' arm, speaking to him words of comfort without the use of speech.

"Legolas, do not say such things".

Silence enshrouded them once again.

"Did you love her?" Thranduil spoke, his voice dark, deep and low, gripped by the iron claws of grief and anger.

He turned and began to advance towards Legolas in a threatening manner, anger turning to fury and over-flowing out of his eyes.

"Did you stay with her every waking moment? Did you guard her with your life? And in doing so, did you take her, make love to her and bring forth two children from her womb? DID YOU?"

Their noses were almost touching. Legolas had seen his father in his rages before, but this was different: this one was tinged with emotion deeper than that which the eye can see, tinged with guilt…

Legolas did not cower away from his father but stared him in the eyes, not uttering a word – until a question aroused itself in his mind that he could not help but ask, for he too was filled to the brim with emotions he had not felt in many a year.

"Why did you never tell me of her? Of her fate?"

Thranduil's face became one of sudden fury. Thranduil smacked his son across the face with one terrible blow that nearly broke his son's jaw and almost threw him to the floor. This did not come as too much of a surprise to Legolas, as he should have known better – he knew his father better than anyone. Thranduil turned away from the group once again and walked off into the darkness.

Idhrenion, once again, swiftly followed his King, not daring to say a word to him. Anié, on the other hand, could not believe the violence she had just witnessed (although she too knew Thranduil well) and immediately went to Legolas' side. Without saying a word, she looked him in the eyes, begging to know if he was alright or not. Legolas gave only a simple nod of his head and showed no other emotion save deep sadness.

"We should keep moving" the cautious voice of reason from Maeglin said.

Anié agreed, as did Legolas. No-one said it (in fact, no-one said anything) but they were all thinking the same thing: the sooner they were out of this terrible place, the better.


	7. Chapter 7

The tunnel seemed to be eternal, as was the darkness that filled every inch of it. The group walked along in silence, no-one daring to utter a word after the shocking event that had just passed, especially not to Thranduil. They moved at a good pace, but not as fast as they normally do when on scouts in the open air.

The darkness continued on forever and some of the group even began to wonder if they were simply walking further and further underground – a notion that none of the Elves present particularly liked. Time passed, although no-one knew exactly how long until before them, a familiar blue glow began to slowly appear.

They all stopped, wondering whether it was wise to proceed or not, all of them wondering who would be next to be tortured by memories. Normally, Thranduil stopped boldly forward, but this time, he did not. In his heart, he did not feel he could cope with another memory such as the one he had just been forced to see.

They all stopped for a moment, no-one taking the first step, until they all faced the simple truth: standing there would get them nowhere. They cautiously moved forwards as a group, the light growing slowly brighter and bluer until soon, they arrived at another glowing wall. They stood in a line in front of the wall, each one of them begging they would not be next.

They stood there for some time – some of them even considered the possibility that nothing would happen. But sure enough, after some moments, the glowing wall began to change slightly, everything in front of them going blurry. Unlike before, however, there were no sounds from the memory, only the sound of the glow transforming itself.

Eventually, an image formed itself before them: they could see a child's bedroom at night. All was dark. To the side of the memory was an average-sized bed, and lying in it was a young elf child asleep. It would be many of year before this child came of age – by looking at him, at a guess, he probably wasn't even a hundred – but he had the physical strength and stature very similar to that of an adult. He had long legs and was very slim, with flowing blond ear and perfectly pointed ears, as all Elves did. He did not seem unhappy, nor did he seem positively content – he seemed quiet and distant as he lay in his bed, eyes wide open, in the depths of a dream. Legolas, of course, recognised this room instantly.

The room was silent, as was the child. This silence was broken when the door cautiously opened and another child entered the room. Thranduil's jaw dropped once again – the second time in just under an hour – as he recognised the child. His heart leapt within him, for he had not seen this child's face in countless years.

"Eleyond!" he whispered aloud.

Eleyond was Thranduil's eldest son and Legolas' older and only brother. Eleyond was very special to Thranduil (as Legolas was too, of course), not only because he was the eldest, but because he was so unique: Eleyond was one of the few Elves in Middle-earth who had no love of the bow and he had chocolate-brown hair, contrast to Legolas' golden yellow. This was no surprise to Thranduil, as Tariel had had brown hair, but what was strange (and yet beautiful at the same time) was that Eleyond's eyes were of the same colour, whereas Thranduil's, Tariel's and Legolas' were all sapphire blue. Thranduil did not truly know how this had come to be – perhaps someone in his earlier family had had brown eyes – but he loved his son dearly none the less.

Now the positions had been swapped. Thranduil was filled with sudden delight and excitement, whereas Legolas was filled with nothing but terror. Seeing his older brother's face made his stomach turn and his heart go suddenly cold. While the boy entered the room and began speaking to the younger version of Legolas, the older Legolas turned to face his father, turning away from the memory.

"Ada" he pleaded, remaining calm but with desperation in voice.

"Ada, you don't need to see this".

Thranduil's face turned slowly away from the memory and towards Legolas' face, his expression now showing no happiness, only the strictness of his character. He knew in his heart that although this memory started out happy – as he was able to see his long-lost son again – it would soon turn dark and new information would be shown to Thranduil. Eleyond died when he was very young, not much older than he was in this memory. Who killed Eleyond and why was never discovered – perhaps this would give Thranduil the answers he had searched for.

Suddenly, a huge crash echoed through the tunnel. Every pair of eyes turned to the tunnel they had not yet walked down and saw that it had suddenly become blocked by a huge slab of stone. Much though they tried to, it wouldn't budge – it was too large and far too heavy for any of them to move it.

"We're trapped!" cried Legolas.

Maeglin sighed to himself – he was beginning to wonder if coming with the group had been a wise decision on his part. His eyes glanced back up to the memory – he had to do a double-take.

"What happened?" he asked suddenly, his eyes now fixed on the memory in confusion.

The group's eyes immediately snapped back to the wall. The memory had stopped; the young Legolas and Eleyond were frozen like ice. Nothing was happened. Thranduil looked at the frozen memory in confusion.

No-one made a sound, all of them deep in thought. After a moment's pause, Anié whispered:

"You have to face it".

She seemed to have figured it out. Everyone look at her and she, after lifting her concentrated eyes from the floor, looked at them also.

"You have to face the memory, admit to the hidden secret that will emerge from it".

She turned to Legolas.

"You have to – otherwise we will never leave this place".

Legolas looked at Anié, terror and dread evident in his eyes. He understood everything Anié had said and was sure that she was right, but did he truly want to face the memory? He knew what had happened, he had kept it hidden in the depths of his heart for centuries. He had kept it hidden for so long, in fact, that he had almost forgotten that it had happened.

Lightly, he shook his head. Anié looked deep into his eyes and told him the truth:

"Legolas, we can't go on until you allow the memory to show itself".

Fate suddenly hit Legolas. There was no way out of this, no way he could escape. He could not shield his father from it, much though he wanted to. Eventually, he turned to his father and, under his breath, begged for forgiveness. Turning back to the memory, he stood and waited.

Seconds of silence past, though to them, it felt like hours. Finally, when the wall sensed that Legolas had accepted his fate, the memory burst back into life and continued. The adult Legolas braced himself. A near-broken jaw would seem a luxury compared to what Legolas prepared himself to receive from Thranduil.

The young Legolas remained in bed, whilst Eleyond crept forward into the room, speaking only to disturb Legolas' dream, asking him what it contained. When Legolas replied that he was thinking about practicing his archery with his new bow (which he loved so dearly), Eleyond did not continue the conversation, as he did not seem terribly interested in the subject. Thranduil smiled to himself – he remembered well how Eleyond always preferred the sword. Eventually, Eleyond stopped moving, looked to his younger brother and asked rather abruptly:

"Do you miss Mother?"

Legolas looked suddenly towards his brother at the word 'mother'. He lowered his head again after a moment or two and said with thoughtful eyes:

"I do not think of her much".

"Do you care so little for her?" Eleyond asked abruptly again, almost insulted.

"No" replied Legolas.

"I simply do not think upon her much".

"Why not?" Eleyond asked, honestly surprised by such an answer.

"I have never seen her" Legolas answered, honestly and innocently.

"So I cannot picture her. It is difficult to think of someone when you don't know what they look like".

At that, Legolas relaxed his body and tried to return to his previous dream. Eleyond had not considered this, but did not drop the subject.

"Do you know why?" he asked, deliberately making the question ambiguous.

Legolas sat up in bed, now it was clear to him that Eleyond was not going to leave him in peace quickly.

"Why what?" he asked.

Legolas' voice was painted with purest innocence, so much so that one could have mistaken him for an angel. Yet he was very mature for an elfling of his age – no-one ever treated him like an ignorant child.

"Why you never saw her?" Eleyond asked.

Legolas thought for a moment and shook his head. Eleyond's eyes darkened as he moved forwards towards his younger brother on the bed, the small smile that was once present, began to disappear.

"Do you know where Mother is, Legolas?"

Legolas shook his head.

"Where do you think she is?" snapped Eleyond, his whispering sharp, no anger but venom in his speech.

Thranduil watched with concerned interest – he had never seen his eldest son like this before.

The young Legolas thought before guessing that she may be in Mithlond. Eleyond indicated that Legolas had guessed incorrectly by shaking his head.

"She is in the Hall of Mandos – where those who have passed go. Do you know why?"

Legolas' eyes were now fixed on his brother's, thinking carefully as to how to word his next sentence and where his brother was going with this conversation – it was clearly something Eleyond deemed of great importance, as he seemed incapable of waiting.

"Must I answer now?" Legolas asked, desiring to return to his dream.

"It is late, brother – can it not wait until morning?"

"It is morning, little brother" Eleyond replied calmly.

Looking far out of his chamber doors, Legolas could see a red glow in the distance, showing that the sun had already begun to rise. He could feel Eleyond's gaze penetrating his mind and his eyes were drawn back to them. Legolas had never seen his brother's eyes that dark before.

"I have been figuring it out for some time, little brother" Eleyond whispered.

"I overheard some men talking, talking over goblets of wine. They were exchanging horror stories - one of them was a doctor, who said he'd treated Mother once. She was agony. There was nothing the doctors could do for her".

Legolas did not fully understand what his brother was talking about, but he knew he didn't like it and it upset him greatly. However, he said nothing, as his brother's eyes penetrated his soul in a way he did know was possible. A silence fell between them as Eleyond stared at his younger brother as if he was the enemy.

"It was you, little brother" he finally whispered.

Legolas' face showed a mixture of shock and utter confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Mother died giving birth to you".

He leaned closer to Legolas and said cruelly: "It's your fault she's dead".

Legolas glared at Eleyond.

"That's not true!" he stated firmly, hurt and upset by the statement.

Eleyond nodded his head.

"Ask the doctors – they know. They were there".

Legolas thought for a moment. Eleyond took advantage of his silence.

"You're a murderer, Legolas!"

"No, I'm not!" said Legolas, his voice rising as he leapt out of bed.

"How dare you say such things about me! And about Mother!"

"Do you think I am lying?" Eleyond asked honestly.

Legolas did not think his brother was lying about his mother and her fate, but he was not a murderer, even if what his brother had said was true. Legolas walked purposefully towards the door with the full intention of finding his father. Eleyond read his thoughts.

"Are you sure that is wise, little brother? I do not think Ada would be best pleased if you disturbed him at this hour with memories that may hurt him. You know what he is like when he is angry".

Legolas stopped with his slender fingers touching the door. His brother was right - he did know what Thranduil was like angry, and would he really have the courage to ask his father such questions about his former wife when he had deliberately never mentioned her to his children before?

Legolas came to the conclusion that going to his father, much though he wanted to for comfort and protection, may not be the wisest idea at this present moment in time. His face fell to one of confused sadness.

"I didn't kill her" he whispered, not turning to face Eleyond.

'Not deliberately, at least' he thought to himself.

"Of course you didn't mean to" replied Eleyond with fake reassurance and comfort in his voice.

"But that doesn't change the facts. It was, at the end of the day, your fault".

"Quiet, Eleyond".

"If you were not here" Eleyond continued as if Legolas had not spoken, "she would still be with us".

"I said quiet".

"We would be a happy family – just imagine how happy Ada would be! He would never be angry again!"

"Leave me"

"I don't know what the men of power would do if it was brought up at the council…"

"Eleyond…"

"I suppose it is essentially murder … they may consider thongs and the dungeons…"

"I said LEAVE ME ALONE, BROTHER!" cried Legolas, able to take no more.

He turned around very suddenly and pushed his brother roughly away. Eleyond remained stable and he could see quite clearly in the eyes of his younger brother that Legolas wanted him out. But he felt it was his duty to show Legolas the truth and make him admit to it – that is what he truly believed was the right course of action.

"You want to get violent, brother?" Eleyond asked.

"No" Legolas replied.

He didn't want any of this. He just wanted Eleyond to leave him alone.

"Come on – don't be a coward!"

And with that, Eleyond launched himself onto Legolas' back. Legolas, having been taken by surprise, almost fell over, but managed to keep his balance and throw his brother onto the floor. Once on the floor, Eleyond grabbed Legolas' ankle and made him fall. Eleyond quickly stood over Legolas, gaining dominance.

"Are you scared, little brother?" said Eleyond, mockingly.

"No" replied the sad yet angered voice from the floor.

"I would be … if I was a murderer like you!"

"Stop it!" Legolas cried, turning round in one swift movement to face his brother.

Before Legolas realised what he had done, he was on his feet and Eleyond was nursing a sudden pain on his cheek (caused by Legolas' fist). This pushing and shoving went on for a little while longer, Eleyond refusing to allow Legolas dominance – he was his big brother and he was right.

Suddenly, when Eleyond grew tired of simple punches and bruises, he drew his blade which he kept on his side. Legolas looked in shock at the blade, knowing in his young heart that this was going a little too far. He didn't want to hurt his brother in this way. He turned from his brother and walked once again towards the door.

"Where are you going?" asked Eleyond.

"To find Ada – I don't want to fight you!" replied Legolas firmly.

"I've told you already, little…"

"I don't care!" shouted Legolas, handing reaching out for the door handle.

Just as Legolas was about to open the door, he stopped dead as Eleyond's knife embedded itself in the door, dangerously close to Legolas' face. Anger within Legolas grew – his brother had just attacked him! The sudden burst of emotions within him was uncontrollable – he had never felt this way before. But before he could do anything, Eleyond retrieved his knife from the door and went to attack Legolas again. Legolas couldn't believe this – Eleyond wanted him dead! Just as Eleyond's small blade came close to Legolas again, Legolas' blade stopped it and forced it aside. Eleyond kept on attacking and Legolas had no choice but to defend himself.

Again, this went on for some moments until suddenly Legolas, in yet another attempt to defend himself, held his knife in his hand on his left side and moved it swiftly through the air to his right, surprising Eleyond with his sudden attack of defence. To Legolas' surprise, Eleyond stopped attacking him.

'At last' thought Legolas. 'He'll leave me alone!'

Legolas smiled in relief and he looked up at his brother. The smile instantly disappeared. Eleyond's eyes were wide and his mouth open. He had stepped back about a pace, he was staggering a little, his blade had fallen from his hand and his other hand was clutching his throat. He couldn't breathe. His hand was dripping with globules of consistent blood flow. Eleyond's eyes met Legolas' and both were terrified. Eleyond made a revolting half grunt, half gurgle sound before falling backwards onto the floor, totally motionless.

In the tunnel, everyone gasped and once again, they were all compelled into utter silence.

As Eleyond fell to the floor, his hand fell away from his neck and as he hit the floor, Legolas stared in horror at the gruesome gash that had formed there. Legolas stood there, completely overtaken by shock. What had just happened? How did … what … was he … he couldn't think straight. Slowly, he lifted his hand which still gripped his knife. As the sun rose, the edge of the stained blade shown scarlet and Eleyond's blood glistened. Legolas felt like he was choking. He couldn't have done … he wasn't a killer … maybe Eleyond had been right after all …

Back in the tunnel, the image of the memory began to ripple and fade and everyone thought that was the end – they hoped it was too – but they were mistaken, as the image had merely changed and soon came back into clarity. By now, the sun had fully risen and Thranduil stood in the Great Hall, surrounded by several men of the court. Amongst their whispered mutterings, the doors swung open with a mighty crash and the young Legolas' voice resounded throughout the Hall. The young elf was in floods of tears and barely able to control himself. He hurtled towards the King and flung his arms around Thranduil's waist, screaming and wailing hysterically.

"Legolas!" cried Thranduil, surprised by his son's sudden entry.

"What is it, my son? What's wrong?"

"_ADA_!" Legolas screamed, his face buried in his father's abdomen.

Thranduil gripped him by the shoulders and forced him to look him in the eye. Through a throat choked by the onslaught of tears, Legolas managed to say the following words which he planned very carefully before entering the Great Hall:

"_Ada_ … Eleyond and I … we were just playing … playing, outside in the forest … and then they came … I don't know who they were, but … they took him, _Ada_ … they came with rugged blades and … oh, it was horrific! … they killed Eleyond … it was all over in seconds … his throat's all covered in blood … oh _Ada_ …"

He clung to his father and wept openly. Thranduil, his eyes wide with shock and his face filled with fear and anger, held his son tightly to him. He immediately called scouts to search the area for any danger and to find his son. The scouts immediately left the scene and the memory faded.

No-one dared to breathe. No-one even dared move their eyes. The eyes of Legolas, after having removed them from the memory that had played out before them all, fell to the floor, terrified of meeting the gaze of his father. Eventually, using all his courage, he very slowly lifted his head and his eyes found his father, who was glaring back at him with a hatred Legolas had never seen before (and Legolas had seen his father in a rage on many an occasion). His blood ran cold and he felt paralysed.

"You – lied – to me" Thranduil said at length.

Legolas considered shaking his head, but he knew that would not help the situation and would, if anything, make it worse.

"I was young, _Ada_. I am sorry for I have done, but I…"

"You are sorry?" Thranduil growled in a tone of voice as if he was being mocked.

"You killed my son…"

"_Ada_, it was an accident!" Legolas interjected hurriedly.

Thranduil continued, ignoring Legolas' plea:

"You killed my son – your own brother – and then you have the audacity to lie to me…"

If those who did not know Thranduil well were present, they would say that due to the slowness and the quietness of his voice, he was keeping surprisingly calm. However, everyone present did know Thranduil well and could only begin to imagine the fury building up in his heart. It seemed to the eyes of Legolas that Thranduil was not merely angry, but possessed by a darkness and a wrath so terrible, it was terrifying to behold.

All were tense and still, no-one knew what has going to happen next. Legolas did not say a word – what more could he say? Eventually, realising there was nothing else he could do, he fell to his knees at his father's feet and held his father's hand, kissing his knuckles as he said:

"Forgive me, _Ada_ … I was too young, I did not see, I did not know … I beg for your forgiveness".

He remained still like stone, as did the expression on Thranduil's face, looking down on his youngest and now only son. Nothing happened for a moment or two until suddenly, for the second time that day (only considerably harder this time), Thranduil hit his son hard across the side of the head. Legolas was caught off-guard by this sudden attack and fell on his back. Just as his focus returned and the initial shock wore off, he saw a glint of metal high above his head and his eyes widened in terror…

The long silence was finally broken as Thranduil's sudden shout of anger, Anié's loud gasp of horror and Idhrenion's desperate pleading with his King resounded in the air. Anié fell down by Legolas to protect him as Idhrenion, boldly and with great force, held back Thranduil, whose face was twisted with fury. He bared his teeth and pointed his blade threateningly towards Legolas, his eyes also wide, but not filled with the fear that Legolas' were.

Eventually, Thranduil threw Idhrenion aside (though not to the floor, as he had done his son) and stormed off down the tunnel, not desiring to see any more memories but desperate to leave this place. They were all confused as to how the boulder had been moved until they saw that it had not moved, but simply lay as a small pile of crumbled, broken rocks on the floor, now no more than the size of a large stone.


	8. Chapter 8

Idhrenion followed his King at a distance whilst Maeglin (who had keeping well out of all this) and Anié helped Legolas up. He seemed fine but he rubbed the side of his head gently, trying to nurse the pain. Legolas was pale naturally, but now he was practically white and almost shaking. Anié was worried for him but he did not seem to be in the mood for talking, so all three of them too continued walking down the tunnel, for the same reasons as Thranduil had done.

As they walked, all were silent. Thranduil made sure he was nowhere near Legolas, and Legolas had no great desire to be in the company of his father, due to the awkwardness and the fear of his father's wrath. Rather, he stayed with Anié and Maeglin, who gave each other the occasional glance, but otherwise were also silent and in their own thoughts.

"Who will be next, I wonder?" asked Maeglin cautiously.

Anié's heart went suddenly cold at his words, desperate for her not to be next. Although, she thought, maybe it would be best, because then she could get hers off her chest and out of the way … whatever her secret happened to be …

"It's you" Idhrenion replied.

He was someway ahead of them and the blue glow of the next magical portal reflected on his face. Anié's head shot up, terror on her face, but sighed heavily in relief as she realised the guard's eyes were not looking at him. His eyes were fixed on Maeglin, who stood next to Anié. Unlike Legolas and Thranduil, Maeglin did not seem afraid of confronting his secret. He seemed very calm as he accepted his fate, almost as if he had been expecting it. He sighed to himself and strode forwards towards Idhrenion, glancing ever so slightly at Anié before doing so. He passed the Royal Guard and stood in front of the memory that had already begun to form in front of him, straight and soldier-like.

"This one arrived quicker than the last" Idhrenion said as Maeglin passed him.

"There was some distance between the last two".

No-one responded. Anié did not have an answer and Legolas and Thranduil were not speaking. There were certainly not standing anywhere near each other (Thranduil deliberately stayed the most away from Legolas as he possibly could) or giving each other any eye contact, Legolas out of fear, Thranduil out of what seemed to be hatred.

"Maybe it is being merciful to me" replied Maeglin after several seconds of silence, briefly looking over his shoulder, a quick smile fleeting across his face. Anié smiled back and was relieved that Maeglin was treating this most awkward situation with such good grace. It was also possible that he was right. It seemed that the memory sensed his acceptance to admit his faults and was therefore willing to deal with Maeglin swiftly.

Deadly silence filled the underground stone room once more as the memory began to take shape. Eventually, an image of Maeglin's home was formed before them. Maeglin had a very knowing look on his face – he recognised the scene before him and he knew very well what was coming. Anié stood just behind Maeglin and watched as everyone was doing, her friend's silhouette before her seeming greater and more dominant now than she had ever seen it.

Maeglin dwelt in a secret realm just beyond the borders of Mirkwood that could not be found on any maps, for it was a fairly new realm, built and populated only recently compared to most other realms in Middle Earth and although it was not hidden to such levels as the great city of Gondolin of old, it shared the same principals of secrecy. Occasionally, servants of the Dark Lord would stray upon it and threaten it inhabitants by attacking those on its borders, but Maeglin and his men made sure that once they knew of its existence, they told no-one else of it and made doubly sure they would never return to threaten his people again. Due to his determination, charisma, kindness and his huge contribution to building up the realm for the people to live in in safety and peace, the people elected him to be their leader, which with some persuasion, he accepted. He refused to be a King, as he wanted only to be one of the people and to care for them, but when he is in his own lands, he holds the title of Lord. Anié had visited it once or twice, but she was only allowed to leave because Maeglin had such great trust in her. It was a beautiful realm to live in, mostly made out of wood and stone and everyone there was friendly and cheerful, happy to live in such a pleasant, protected place under such a good leader.

The image that formed before them was of a private chamber of sorts within the Great Hall in which councils were held and where Maeglin's privates rooms were found, within which Maeglin dwelt. In that room sat Maeglin, writing reams of things on parchment – notes from the council or a letter to someone or something. After a few quiet moments, there was a knock at the door. Maeglin swiftly turned around and called out to whoever was at the door. The door opened and a woman walked in, carrying several objects and items in her arms.

"Ah, Melli …" he shut his eyes temporarily, pausing for a moment in thought.

"…Mellimeldisiel!" he finally said.

The woman laughed.

"Well done, my Lord!" she congratulated him.

Maeglin took a fake bow and she laughed again. Mellimeldisiel was one of Maeglin's personal assistants, cleaning, tidying and generally helping Maeglin wherever and whenever she could. As a leader, he had to know everyone's name and he had learnt them all quite well, but it took him some time to learn how to pronounce hers and he still had difficulties occasionally, as was just shown and which never failed to make Mellimeldisiel laugh.

He apologised, but she would have known of it – she found it most amusing and she didn't mind one bit.

"And don't call me 'my lord'" Maeglin added.

"I've had enough of titles and 'my lords' for one day".

"Very well, my L…"

She stopped herself, realised what she was about to say and laughed again, as did Maeglin.

"I've brought you some things" she continued. "Some of the council members have written proposals and letters to you since the last council, you've received a letter from your friend, Anié…"

At this piece of information, Maeglin showed sudden interest, stood up and took the letter from her.

"You can leave the rest on that table there, I'll go through them".

She bowed slightly and did as Maeglin asked. Maeglin loved receiving letters from Anié and his face showed it.

"I also brought you this" she said, holding out a glass of wine to him.

He turned his face from the half-open letter and was touched by the sight he saw before him. He stood up again, smiling and took the glass from her, thanking her gratefully. She smiled, her heart warmed to see him content. The wine was of excellent quality with a very fruity taste and Maeglin enjoyed it immensely. But he could not help but notice that as he drank, Mellimeldisiel's eyes never left his face. Deep inside her heart, she plucked up some hidden courage.

"You know what I've come to say?" she asked, honesty and a streak of hope running through her words.

Maeglin's hand was stilled. After a slight pause, he swallowed heavily and placed his goblet down on the table, lifting his dark eyes to meet hers. Hers were round, shining in the candlelight and almost pleading. A hopeful smile illuminated from her face.

"Mellimeldisiel…" he began.

"Please, my Lord Maeglin, hear me! I do not come to you in a search for money or publicity or to be … elevated in society in some way. I have served you for many years now and I have never served any man as kind and humble as you. I come to you, because…"

She was almost shaking. She spoke simply and quietly, yet her voice was filled with truest emotion.

"…because I love you".

Maeglin remained still and silent, looking at Mellimeldisiel. She was a beautiful woman, very beautiful, a woman he could see himself – and most men of the realm, in fact – spending many happy years with and bearing many children. She was hard-working, kind, fiercely loyal – the ideal wife. Maeglin knew well that she would not profess her love to him simply for her own ends, she was not that kind of woman, and that knowledge warmed his heart even more.

"Mellimeldisiel…" he began once again, holding her hands in his, "you have shown great courage coming to me this evening. Many men and women fear greatly of showing such emotion and feelings to another, but you have not run from that challenge. Your words touch me deeply and your presence never fails to warm my heart".

Her smile increased in its width and warmth.

"You will make a wonderful wife, for you are such a strong and loyal woman to this realm. I see you with so many happy children, and I certainly see a delighted husband! As you say, you have served me for many years and I know your emotions to be true, and I could ask for no greater friend … or cleaner".

She laughed.

"Your love deserves true love and your loyalty, true loyalty in return".

Her heart fluttered. Her eyes never left his and her smile showed her happiness.

"Which is why I must say no" Maeglin finished.

Her smile faded gradually as the shock slowly but surely sunk in. She could not believe how she could be denied this, after such kind words and compliments… she had considered the thought that he would say 'no', of course, but after all he had just said and confirmed?

"What do you mean, my Lord?" she asked, her voice beginning to shake a little.

"You deserve better than I" he replied in a low, quiet voice, "and I am not one for you to take".

He let go of her hands and turned from her, walking back to his desk. She remained there, still, silent, heart-broken and holding back tears.

"That will be all, Mellimeldisiel" Maeglin said finally, his voice calm yet authoritative.

Mellimeldisiel bit her bottom lip to hold herself together, curtsied to the back of her lord and master and left the room, her heart in tatters and her dreams destroyed. As Maeglin heard the door shut, he sighed deeply and his heart strained within him. He gingerly opened his letter from Anié and read its contents. It contained nothing of immense interest – just news of the kingdom, wishing him well, that all was well there, that she and Legolas were both fine – but everything word Anié had hand-written herself, Maeglin read and handled as if it were treasure.

Maeglin rested his head in his hand, clutching his forehead, his eyes once again shut:

"Damn you, Anié, why are you so beautiful and fair…"

(In the tunnel, Anié's eyes widened and her mouth opened as she realised the reality and the entirety of this terrible situation).

A single tear rolled down Maeglin's cheek as he sat at his desk. He could have released more, but he was stronger than that. He had to be. He wiped it away and pulled himself together. It was here that the vision faded and again, silence fell on all of them. Anié walked up to Maeglin, who had watched every moment of the memory and who now hung his head.

"Maeglin…" she almost whispered, still in shock.

"I never knew … I never even thought…"

She paused for a moment, thinking for words. A thought then came to her:

"Why did you never tell me? All those years we spent together, and you never said a word?"

Maeglin remained silent and did not make eye contact. Suddenly, Anié's emotions changed.

"How could you do that to her?" she asked, touching on anger.

Maeglin opened his mouth slightly as if he were about to say something, but no sound was produced.

"You've destroyed her. She came to you, bearing her love and affection openly to you, and you turned her away just because of me?"

After a moment of silence, Maeglin lifted his head and stared deep into Anié's confused eyes. The only words he could think of to say were:

"I'm sorry, Anié, my dearest friend…"

He stroked her cheek with his fingers and he smiled as he told her:

"… I have loved you for centuries".

Anié did not know how to react to these words. She loved Legolas with all her mind and heart, she loved Maeglin as a close friend, and now after what she had just seen…

"I'm sorry" she stuttered after a pause.

She then shook her head: "How could you…"

Confused, upset and still quite shocked, she walked away. Then, for the first time, Maeglin suddenly raised his head, his mouth open as his brain desperately thought for the right words to say:

"Anié … Anié, please…"

But it was to no avail, she had gone. He knew he had done wrong, but it would be a fate worse than death to him to loose Anié as a friend. He dared not make eye contact with Legolas, who stood just a few feet away from him, for fear of starting a conversation. Thankfully, Anié's sudden cry brought their attention away from him.

"There's a light!" she cried.

The company swiftly moved down the corridor where Anié had just exited. Eventually, Maeglin slowly followed after them, though he kept his distance – he was in his own thoughts.

The light that Anié could see was not the same blue-ish light they had seen before when they were approaching another secret memory, but a darker blue light, more natural. They moved towards it and came out into a larger clearing, the moonlight illuminating the stone walls. They were relieved to feel the fresh, cool wind again and they all inhaled many deep lungfuls.

"Well, my friends" a voice said from behind them all, "I congratulate you on coming this far".

They all turned to see the mysterious stranger who had originally led them here. He was smiling at them and he had remained in his simple clothing. But Thranduil was having none of it. He glared at him and took an authoritative step forward as he spoke:

"Why have you brought us here? We have no authority of us – let us leave this place!"

The stranger replied, as calmly as ever:

"The tunnel continues that way" – he pointed towards another dark tunnel some way away from them.

"If you wish to continue, no-one shall stop you, but you may wish to rest here for the night first".

Thranduil was furious. He advanced towards the stranger (who did not move and took no action to defend himself), drew his sword and stretched out his hand to grab the man.

"You said you would lead us to our men – where are they? TAKE ME TO THEM THIS…"

Everyone gasped. As Thranduil grabbed the men in order to threaten him into speech, as if he was never there, the man disappeared without a trace, and that was the last time they ever saw him.


	9. Chapter 9

They did, in fact, rest – it had been a long and trying day. Some of them searched around the wide open space to find a way out, but in vain – mysteriously, every path they took and every combination of routes they tried, they ended up back where they started again. Frustrated and trapped, eventually they stopped.

Nobody spoke – not through fatigue, but due to unseen barriers that had begun to separate them. Idhrenion remained within clear eyesight of his King, but Thranduil wanted very much to be left alone. Legolas had gone off in a different direction to his father – neither could speak to each other. Anié had stayed with him, though she left him be at first. No-one knew exactly where Maeglin was but they knew he couldn't have gone far – Anié made sure she was nowhere near him for the time being.

She approached her lover with caution, perfectly aware that he would probably not be in a particularly pleasant mood, as none of them due to the ambiance now surrounding them and the situation they found themselves in. Thankfully, however, although Anié was right, Legolas was not angry, an emotion she feared most of all from her husband.

She sat down next to him and placed her hand on his shoulder before she spoke:

"Are you alright?" she asked quietly in their own tongue.

Legolas did not reply, nor did his eyes move to acknowledge the fact she had spoken. After a few seconds – though it felt much longer in the dreary silence – he simply turned his head, half-looked over his shoulder and replied: "And you?"

She sighed silently to herself, knowing her lover was not at all alright. However, she could not blame him for not replying, for neither did she. Words failed her, so she just sat next to Legolas, drowning in the sadness that engulfed everyone and everything in the vicinity. Legolas, genuinely concerned for his love, looked over his shoulder a little more and asked in all seriousness:

"Are you alright?"

"I am fine" she replied honestly.

"It is you I'm worried about".

Legolas sighed again and cast his darkened eyes to the ground. Silence fell on them once again.

"Why are we here, Anié?" Legolas eventually asked.

"We'll not find our soldiers here – what kind of a trap is this?"

"It is a trap, of that we can be certain" replied Anié.

"Though not necessarily one that means us harm".

Legolas shot her a perplexed look and in the moonlight, Anié could see from the expression on Legolas' face that she would have to choose her words carefully. However she could say no more, for as far as the tunnel was concerned, she understood no more.

"I do not know what to make of this place, nor the man who brought us here" she concluded.

Remembering the man filled Legolas with more black anger and he ground his teeth:

"That man … we are such fools, following him here. We walked into this trap so readily, we might as well have set it up ourselves! He's probably laughing at us, wherever and whatever he is" and Legolas cursed him in his mother tongue.

Anié took her lover's arm in her own and tried to comfort him:

"Do not be angry, my love - we will escape this place, one way or another, for like I said, I do not think it necessarily means us harm. For the moment, I do not believe that anyone wants us dead. We just need to be on our guard and get through this as quickly as possible so that our questions may be answered".

Anié however knew perfectly well that nothing she could say would take away the pain of the freshly-revived memories and the pain they had caused amongst the company, especially in rifts caused between relationships that had once been so strong and unquestioned; even when thinking briefly about Maeglin and what he had done to that poor woman made Anié think of one of her dearest and closest friends in a very different light and she did not know in her heart if she could bring herself to speak to him just yet.

After a brief pause, she said carefully: "I'm sorry about your brother, and your mother".

The darkness grew in Legolas' face.

Placing her hand on his heart, she followed her condolences quickly with heart-felt words:

"I know you have suffered. No-one in life is free from that. But together, we are stronger".

Legolas did not respond nor did he move for a moment. Eventually, he gently took Anié's hand in his own and kissed her delicate fingers. The pair said nothing until Legolas suddenly turned to her with an urgent request:

"What will yours be?" he asked her, his eyes somewhat wider than before.

Anié did not understand and asked him to repeat himself. Though repressed so as not to be mistaken with hysterical, desperation became clearer the more Legolas spoke:

"What will yours be, your memory? It must be your deepest, darkest memory, something you will probably have never told me. Please, Anié, I beg of you to tell me; that way, I can prepare to comfort you however you may need it, and if it is about me … _especially_ if it is about me or concerns me, I can prepare and it will not…"

Legolas paused: "…it won't hurt so much. Please, Anié – think carefully and perhaps by revealing it now, you will be spared".

Anié realised that what Legolas wanted most of all from this request was not to be hurt again, as he had done so quite badly twice that day alone. Anié took his hands and spoke straight into his eyes:

"Legolas, my love, I wish I knew what memory this tunnel would reveal for me but I honestly have no idea".

Legolas held her gaze for some seconds, waiting perhaps for a change of mind or a sudden remembrance of a long-lost event, but nothing came, so he simply sighed and remained seated. Anié thought for a while, pondering over what had happened that day, thinking about how she felt now and revelling in possibilities of what may happen the next day. Eventually she arrived at the conclusion that this was going to be a long night.


	10. Chapter 10

As the sun rose and the sky changed from black of night to the red of dawn, the group were assembled, ready to depart, desperate to move on and yet dreading to do so. Anié remained with Legolas and a good distance from Maeglin, who had returned to the group but had said nothing – he looked deeply pensive.

They stood and they waited, but the man did not reappear, nor anyone in the group know which way to go. No eye contact, no-one spoke – it was an awful atmosphere. Suddenly, a wind began to pick up and blew in one particular direction. The group then noticed that a new pathway into the tunnel had appeared that they had not noticed before.

"It must want us to go that way" Maeglin pointed out the obvious.

For a split-second, no-one dared move. The group were encircled by a thick silence which was only broken by a snort from Idhrenion.

"This is madness!" he exclaimed.

"Why are we following this man's orders and walking around into danger like willing sacrifices? The Royal Family! We would not do these for other clans, others who might take us hostage!"

Everyone found flaws in Idhrenion's theory:

"What do you suggest, then?" said Legolas. "Sit here and wait for death?"

"If we do not move on, we will never get out" said Maeglin.

"We are not in any danger" stressed Anié, for everyone seemed to have this in their minds. "If our lives were under any threat, he would have tried to hurt us by now. This tunnel is more than a simple trap".

"You will stay with me, Idhrenion. You will go where I go" commanded Thranduil.

Idhrenion felt as though he had been chided and sheepishly bowed his head a little. He stood with Thranduil as usual, but he had started to look rather nervous and most of them assumed that he would be next, even more so when the group looked ready to move forward. After a period of silence, before they entered the tunnel, he bravely took a step forward so that he was standing before Thranduil and asked him:

"Would you pardon me, my Liege? Would you forgive me any wrong, a humble servant who had always obeyed you and never questioned why? I, who has always stood by you and would continue to do so even at the point of death?"

"Are you going to give me a reason why I should punish you or why I should doubt your loyalty?" Thranduil asked, his voice without emotion.

Idhrenion, temporarily struck dumb, suddenly stood to attention before his King and master:

"Hail Thranduil, strong and almighty King of Greenwood the Great as was".

'Yes, then', thought Thranduil.

Eventually, step by step, they moved forward as a group, Idhrenion by now the palest, the slowest-moving and the most fearful of the whole company. One could say they were more prepared now than they were the first time they walked down the tunnel the previous day, but that didn't make any of them feel any more confident.

They walked in darkness for some time – some began to fear that they may be lost – until then, from around a corner, came the familiar blue glow. Idhrenion nearly stopped dead in his tracks. Upon approaching the glow, they found themselves in the same places as before – they all stood round the mysterious blue glow and soon, images would appear to show yet another memory that nobody really wanted to see. As the blue light began to shimmer and change shape, Idhrenion attempted to slip away from the others – he didn't want to see this, he knew what was coming – but Thranduil grabbed him by the scuff of his tunic and pulled him back to the King's side:

"You are staying with me" Thranduil ordered.

Idhrenion gulped and stood by his King, resolute yet terrified.

As the image formed, Thranduil recognised the room before him at once, as did in fact everyone present save Maeglin, who did not live in the Mirkwood Palace. It was a bedroom similar to most of those found in the Great Palace, but Thranduil recognised it particularly as that shared between him and his wife.

In the room stood Idhrenion, alert and almost twitching to stand resolute – he had clearly been summoned there. He did not look uneasy as such, but he didn't look terribly comfortable, nor did he look as though he honestly wanted to be there. Shortly afterwards, a tall slender woman – Queen Tariel, to be precise - walked swiftly into the room and shut the door properly behind her. As if on cue, Idhrenion snapped to attention and bowed low to the lady.

"Hail my Queen!" he pronounced loudly.

"Oh stop it, Idhrenion" she snapped back, "how many times must you say that in one day?"

Idhrenion stood up straight, still on ceremony, and did not utter another word, feeling a little chastised. Upon removing her long cloak and seeing the expression on his face, she suddenly smiled at him and her mood and speech became significantly more relaxed and comfortingly:

"Oh Idhrenion, there is no need for you to stand in ceremony so. I summoned you here because I wanted to talk to you, that's all – you're not my guard here".

She poured two goblets of wine and extended one to him: "Drink?"

Idhrenion's poor mind was now torn: to accept would be drinking alcohol whilst on duty, to decline would be turning down an offer from his Queen. The Queen, however, knew the minds of men such as him and knew he'd be having this little mental turmoil and so, whilst holding back a frustrated sigh, simply placed the goblet back down on the table and took one to drink herself.

"Have you had a pleasant day?" she asked innocently.

"Yes, my Queen" he replied – a default answer.

"Please…" she said almost immediately, looking at him over her shoulder, "call me Tariel".

This made Idhrenion feel even more uncomfortable than he already did (for he felt he knew why he had been summoned here) and he found himself in another socially awkward situation. Upon turning around to face the guard, goblet in hand, her poignant eyes were fixed upon his and her physical stance was very particular, almost deliberately appealing.

"Why are you so uncomfortable, Idhrenion?" she asked him plainly, her voice now slightly deeper than before.

Idhrenion could not reply – she was starting to get to the point and it terrified him. What would his King say if he found out why he was here? Tariel walked towards him as she spoke until their faces were almost touching:

"I call you by _your_ first name, so it is only fair if I allow you mine?"

Idhrenion wanted to step away but he knew she would only follow him – what she wanted, she would get. So, with great bravery, he looked down into her eyes and stated quite clearly: "I shouldn't be here".

The smile evaporated from her face: "Of course you should, I summoned you here".

Her voice then became very quiet and her hands slithered up to his strong, broad shoulders: "I wanted you here…"

Idhrenion's eyes fell shut – despite the fact that this sensation would be most pleasurable in different circumstances, his fear and suspicions had been proved correct.

"I want you here, because…"

"Please, my Lady…" Idhrenion gently pleaded, desperately trying to do what was morally right.

Queen Tariel continued on regardless: "…because I think you deserve more than what you have. That bully, Thranduil, pushes you around all day like a slave, not giving you a word of thanks or well-earned praise…but I see your talents. I see everything…"

By this point, they were positively breathing the same air. Her fingers had crawled up to his face and were now caressing his cheeks and fleetingly stroking the tips of his pointed ears.

"My husband gives me no pleasure, no fulfilment, no thrills. Oh, he may be satisfied himself, but me, I get nothing. But you… you're different. You care about people, you'd be soft, gentle, romantic…wonderful. I watch you, you know. I look at you across the Great Hall, and oh how I fantasize…"

Tariel could see he was tense, but small parts of him were slowly beginning to sway under pressure and give in to temptation. Idhrenion slowly and gingerly raised his arms and gently gripped hers, be it a gesture to bring her closer or to push her away, no-one could be quite sure.

"Thranduil won't be back for many hours yet" she continued. "We are quite alone, with no-one to disturb us".

She leant forward into his ear and asked dangerously: "Dare you defy me?"

After a moment's pause as she gazed (or did she glare) into his eyes, she moved forward purposefully and sealed his mouth with her own. If Idhrenion ever had a choice in the matter, it was taken away from him by that one gesture. His lips moved almost against their will – she was so passionate and forceful – and whilst kissing her in return, he found himself moving downwards towards the bed. As they lay themselves down, the memory slowly faded out and the image disappeared.

The company were all quite glad of this, as no-one wanted to watch what happened next, but just when they thought they would have to endure another dreadful moment of deadly silence, they realized that the memory had not yet finished. A short while after the first scene had fully disappeared, the mysterious blue suddenly burst into life again and revealed a new image; this time, instead of in a Mirkwood bed chamber, the group could see down one of the palace's many corridors. It was dark, deserted and silent.

Soon, footsteps began to echo, the sound resonating and growing louder as it bounced off the walls. From the furthest end of the corridor appeared Idhrenion, looking smart and formal as ever; from the other end (though the company in the tunnel could not yet see her) appeared Tariel, equally as regal as ever. The two of them walked down the same corridor in opposite directions and made no eye contact as they passed each other. They continued walking, but just before Idhrenion disappeared from view, Tariel stopped near the end of the corridor and called his name in a knowing tone. Idhrenion stopped and slowly turned to face her. She too turned and walked towards, not speaking again until they were closer and she could talk to him more quietly.

"I know you know" she said simply.

"Know what, my Lady?" replied Idhrenion innocently.

Queen Tariel responded instantly and with great emphasis: "I know that you know".

After a brief moment's pause to think, Idhrenion replied: "I can sense it".

"If you can sense it, so soon will Thranduil" Tariel said, unobtrusively placing her hand on her abdomen where in its very early stages, a baby had started to grow.

"I will sleep with Thranduil tonight and we will have no reason to believe that it is anybody else's child. It should work so long as nobody tells him the truth".

She stopped. A sudden terrible thought struck her mind like lightning. She lifted her head and stared with wide eyes at Idhrenion, who was staring at her with a completely emotionless face.

"You haven't told him?"

Idhrenion neither responded nor moved.

Her eyes now looked terrified: "Tell me you have not told him".

Although she was his Queen, Idhrenion deep down now hated her more than anyone else, and he deliberately held the silence in order to unnerve and terrify her more.

"I should have told him" he finally answered, guilt like bile making him feel wretched inside – he was so fiercely loyal to his King.

"I should have told him everything, so he could see what traitorous people we really are".

"Hold your tongue!" she snapped, hissing so as to keep her voice down, "we indulged in pleasure, that is no crime!"

She suddenly leaned towards him, a menacing look in her eyes:

"You will tell him nothing. Besides, I think he would trust his Queen over a lowly advisor".

Idhrenion was deeply offended at being derogatorily titled in this way and came very close to pointing out that this 'lowly advisor' was now the father of her unborn child, but he decided to hold back and said nothing.

Tariel sighed: "That my first child should be born from an absurd passionate love affair. Oh the irony".

With that, she turned swiftly on her heels and departed. Before Idhrenion had time to move or speak again, the image faded and the memory turned into a simple grey wall of rock. All attention returned back to the group and the heavy blanket of awkwardness which (like so many times before over the past day or two) fell over them.

Thranduil said not a word, only thinking silently in his mind and remaining perfectly still. Slowly, all eyes rose from the floor to find Idhrenion to see what he would do now - in all honesty, few believed he would survive the next twenty-four hours – but they had difficulty doing so. They all turned round, frantically scanning the room in which they stood for any sign of the King's long-standing advisor, but he was nowhere to be found. Idhrenion had disappeared without a trace.


	11. Chapter 11

"Where has he gone?" a member of the group eventually spoke up.

No-one was entirely sure whose the voice belonged to, but they were all thinking the same thing. There was no way of escape, as they had arrived at what seemed to be a dead end and there was no obvious way out of the room except from the route they had just come from, which only led back through the tunnel where they had already been, so where could Idhrenion have gone?

"He has gone" announced Thranduil darkly with a deep tone of finality in his voice. There was clearly no love loss from his disappearance.

Silence fell on them all once again. As they were all slowly becoming aware (and as was previously mentioned), there was no visible way out, so it wasn't even a case that the group could simply move on. They also began looking around at each other to make sure that everyone was still there, following Idhrenion's mysterious disappearance – Thranduil did not move at all, but Legolas and Anié found each other and held hands tightly, both as nervous as the other, and she checked that Maeglin was still with them, but quickly broke eye contact as soon as he looked at her. The company thought to themselves what they could possibly do next.

Finally, Anié broke the silence:

"Well, that must be it, then".

All eyes slowly turned towards her.

"We've been through everyone else here, and I have no secrets to hide, so we must have finished. This must be the end of the tunnel".

No-one said a word.

"So", said Maeglin, "are we trapped then?"

"Oh don't think so highly of yourself!" Thranduil suddenly snapped, raising his voice in great anger.

"Each and every one of us here has secrets to be told and revealed, so do not try and kid us that you are so much holier than the rest of you – you're next!"

Anié was shocked by the King's words and despite being offended, she replied as calmly as she could:

"I know you may not believe me, but I honestly don't – after everything we've been through, I wouldn't dare hide anything from you now".

"You have quite a history, Anié" Legolas spoke up, moving towards her.

"It doesn't even need to have been anything against one of us".

Anié realised that that was the first time he had spoken to her that day – almost as if he was wary of her. By the look in his eyes, Anié could tell that Legolas didn't entirely trust her, or at least was not sure. This shocked her even more and her mouth hung a little agape.

"Anié…" said Legolas a little more lovingly, "please, think hard and think deeply, we cannot leave until you recall it and we will not judge you. There must be something, anything".

"I don't know!" Anié replied, beginning to loose her nerve.

"Unless…" said Maeglin to himself yet out loud.

When he realised that he had spoken aloud and saw three pairs of despairing eyes had turned towards him, he continued:

"Well, this may sound absurd, but perhaps it could be something that Anié does not remember?"

Before the group had much time to think this over, the wall where Idhrenion's memory had been suddenly flared blue and the wall prepared itself to show another image. It seemed that Maeglin had been right and the tunnel had reacted. Anié suddenly became fearful and held onto Legolas tightly, speaking in a very panicked tone of voice:

"I don't know what this is…I have told you everything I know, you know all my secrets, I don't know what this is going to show me…"

Legolas held her back: "I know. I trust you".

All hurt she had felt against her lover a moment ago passed away with that statement and pure adrenaline overrode all other emotions. She turned her head back to the wall and as it flared again in preparation, she broke away from Legolas, walked towards the blue light and stood before the company, awaiting her fate.

"I do not know what you are about to show me" she said, boldly and aloud, "I cannot guess what you are going to accuse me of, but before all those present I tell you now: I may not be without fault, for I know no-one that is, but I am guiltless and blameless of any action you are about to show me".

The others in the room thought this was perhaps a thoughtless action and that caution should be advised, but they were soon to find out if they were right.

At first the blue on the wall began to shake and stutter, as if it was having difficulties showing the memory. Images eventually begin to appear but only in brief flashes and it was nearly impossible to see them properly or understand what they were trying to show.

Soon although they still appeared and disappeared rapidly, they became more visible as people, bodies, flashes of victims … being murdered. The images were accompanied by their pleads for mercy and their screams, but Anié recognised neither the sounds nor the faces.

"Who are they?" she asked out-loud.

As no-one responded, Thranduil grimly answered: "They are the victims of the _ifanc gwanath_".

Anié had heard terrible tales of the _ifanc gwanath_ murders, but she had not seen any of it – at that time, she had not yet met Legolas and therefore had not been present in the Palace of Mirkwood to witness the panic and the grieving families and comrades. Anié looked in horror at the remains of the bodies, ranging from the lone unlucky scout or soldier to the mystery of the well-known and loved family in Mirkwood, each one of them butchered – the attacks were horrific.

The images then changed to pictures of Anié's father, a man who thoroughly hated the people of Mirkwood and particularly the Royal Family (though he dwelt just within the borders of the forest). It was no secret that he was considered as a dark and evil man, that he had killed many and would gladly do so should anyone cross his path. Anié survived his dreadful wrath and managed to run away, but she had not seen him since she was a child which was now many, many years ago. Linking the two, it was not beyond the realms of possibility that Anié's father had been responsible for the deaths, but Anié shook her head in disbelief:

"My father?" she muttered. "No it could not be – they said the killer would have to have been small and swift or they would have been tracked down or seen!"

The general consensus of the room agreed with her – although her father was a suspect for a long time and more than capable of carrying out such deeds, the practicalities of it made it seem unlikely.

However the images did not stop and pictures of her father that Anié had never seen before continued to appear before her eyes. It showed her father alone, plotting, poring over old books, and with his eyes dark and his grimace frightening, the group saw him placing his hand over the child Anié's eyes and speaking some kind of incantation (though it was inaudible, they could just see his lips moving as he read from a book). The group began to arrive at their own conclusions and although Anié made no sound, her eyes said everything her mouth could ever say and her soul screamed.

The images that followed were quite simply nightmarish – as Anié stared in disbelief and horror, she witnessed her father placing a large knife into her hand and with no knowledge or awareness of what she was doing, walking calmly through the forest and tracking down those whom her father had directed her to kill – speed, strength, stomach, none of these were an issue for one who is possessed by dark magic, even in the body of a child.

The scenes were graphic and the body count became numerous. The mystery of how one so young could be responsible for the death of an entire family was horrifyingly revealed as the child Anié (once again possessed so that she would have the ability to commit these crimes and yet have no memory of them afterwards) slipped into the house at night, opened the door from the inside for her father, who knocked the members of the family unconscious and allowed the evil in the form of Anié to do the rest.

The violence and the horror seemed without end. Eventually Anié, who had stood with mouth agape and tears rolling down her face since the dawning realisation struck her, could take it no more:

"But I didn't know!" she cried, her voice overflowing with passionate desperation and emotion. "I didn't _know_ I was killing those people! My father is responsible – I'm not a murderer!"

With this outcry, the images slowly faded away but as the blue disappeared, a terrifying message engraved in red on the wall took its place, revealing a message that Anié would remember for the rest of her life – it read:

'But you still did it'.

The four who remained did not make a sound or move a muscle, but stood completely still in shock of what they had just seen and in grief for those they had lost. Sympathy was not quite the right word to describe their feelings towards Anié, but there was certainly not the sense of judgement or accusation as there had been with previous revelations. Anié sank to her knees, crying loudly and openly as she too was in shock. Eventually, through his abounding love for her, Legolas moved forward and held her close to him, unable to bring himself to speak any words of comfort, for there were none to give.

Silence descended upon them.


	12. Chapter 12

Their positions stayed the same for some time – Legolas remained kneeling on the floor beside Anié, who had calmed down now and was just clinging onto Legolas for comfort; Thranduil and Maeglin stood on opposite sides of the room, each a little way away from the couple, heads bent and silent. Movement or speech became difficult and awkward. Each of them became aware that they had all now shared their greatest secrets and so surely (or perhaps 'hopefully' would be a better word) they must now have reached the end of the tunnel and would therefore be either able to escape or allowed to leave.

As though each of them were silently called at the same moment, they all looked up and saw a piece of parchment lying on the stone. They each looked at each other, wondering who would move first to pick it up, as it had obviously been mysteriously placed there for them. Thranduil cared not what it said – he was not in the mood for games, he just wanted to leave; Anié was still in a state and Legolas was comforting her, so Maeglin stepped forward, tenderly picked up the parchment and read aloud its content:

_Now you have seen, now you heard_

_Terrible events that though they occurred_

_Long ago in the past,_

_Their effects still last_

_To weaken your character, spoil your trust…_

_Never do such secrets lie long in the dust._

_Your men disappeared and to find them, you came,_

_Though they are not here, you sought not in vain;_

_Open your eyes_

_For after the lies,_

_There are those who will learn and those who will not_

_And the latter are always left outside to rot._

_My last word is simple, my last word is brief,_

_So I bid you to listen through your anger and grief:_

_Go love and forgive, but don't ever let_

_This day be a day that you'll ever forget._

They all pondered these words in their hearts carefully, but no-one knew exactly what they meant. Then, as if a brush of wind had swept past them in the same direction, they all noticed that behind them was a door through which they could undoubtedly leave. Silently, like children who had been scolded and whose heads were bent with sorrow, shock and shame, they slowly stood up and one by one, walked through the doorway and left the Tunnel. After the last person had walked out, the door shut firmly behind them and not one of them looked back.

They came out in the middle of the forest. It was just before noon, the sun was high in the sky and it took a moment for Thranduil to get his bearings and find the right direction to go back to the Palace. Once outside, their mentalities snapped back to reality and they realised they were still no closer to finding the whereabouts of their missing comrades. The parchment said they had 'searched not in vain' – had they gone through the tunnel too? But where were they now?

"It wanted us to learn from what we had done" pondered Anié out-loud.

"Maybe they didn't learn or didn't accept what they had done, and then…weren't allowed to leave?"

Her thoughts ran dry and she moved back into silent thought.

Maeglin too had been silently thinking, until suddenly something caught his eye high up in one of the trees; he looked up and stared at what he saw.

"There are those who will learn and those who will not, and the latter are always left outside to rot" he recited again, his head titled up and his eyes not moving.

"What are you talking about, Maeg…"

Legolas' voice trailed off as he followed Maeglin's line of vision and saw, hanging from a sturdy branch in one of the trees, was the body of Idhrenion, the harsh rope reddening the skin around his snapped neck. Anié gasped and gave a small shriek as her hand clapped over her mouth; Thranduil simply glared at it, his face emotionless. For a moment, each of them were transfixed on the dangling body and its meaning.

"He couldn't leave with it" said Legolas.

"He couldn't bear to be seen as disloyal" agreed Anié.

In that moment it dawned on them – how many of their other comrades and soldiers had passed through that same tunnel and could not bear to face reality on the other side?

With no sympathy in his heart for the suicide of his personal guard who only a few hours ago he would have considered to have been the most loyal and dedicated soldier he had ever known, Thranduil was the first to leave; he swiftly turned on his heels and walked away – he wanted to go home, deep down he felt too angry and hurt to care, the words 'left out to rot' seeming most appropriate as Thranduil had no intention of giving him any kind of burial. Sorry for the tragic end of Idhrenion but sharing the same desire to return home as Thranduil, the others soon followed him.

It was much later that day when they finally arrived back at the Palace. The journey back had been dreadful, as Legolas and Anié were still not speaking to Maeglin, Thranduil wasn't speaking to anyone, no-one wanted to speak and the overall atmosphere was very sombre and depressing. Upon their return, the people were baffled that their missing soldiers had not been found and returned after the group had been gone for so long, and even more so that none of the group told them anything about what had happened, but spoke to no-one and each went off to be alone in their own rooms. The simple truth was that no-one really knew quite how to react to what they had seen – there was a wide variation of emotions, ranging from anger to sorrow and regret to lack of trust, but all wrapped up in a bubble of confusion and a lack of knowing what they could learn from all this.

Later that evening, Legolas nervously followed a messenger that had informed him that Thranduil desired to see him. Anié had offered to go with him for support, but Legolas said it was probably best if he went alone – he had no idea what state he would find his father, though he guessed angry.

Legolas expected to be led to his father's chambers, but instead he was led to the Great Hall. The guards who stood vigilant outside its doors had been ordered not to let anyone else in except Legolas, Legolas bravely stepped inside and the mighty doors closed firmly and remained guarded – no-one was the enter the Hall or overhear the conversation that followed; the Great Hall was immense and the doors thick, so even one standing with one's ear pressed to the door would not have been able to hear the words spoken by the soft Elven voices of Thranduil and Legolas, not unless their voices were significantly raised.

The Great Hall had become darker as the sun sunk into the West and the only light source in the room was a large golden fire, which was burning and crackling loudly, and the occasional candle flickering silently on the wall. With the fire before him and his back to the Prince, like a dark lone shadow, stood the still and silent body of Thranduil, his eyes never leaving the flames and a goblet of wine in his right hand. As Legolas entered the Hall and nervously approached his father (though he did not get too close), Thranduil did not turn his head – he knew who it was.

Before Legolas took the opportunity to speak, Thranduil broke the silence, his voice low and deadly serious, placing emphasis on every word he said:

"I do not want you to speak – until I have said what I wish to say".

Legolas understood perfectly and was dreading inside what Thranduil was about to say, but on the contrary Thranduil opened his heart to his son for the first time:

"In the last two days I have been forced to once again witness the death of both my wife and my son".

Legolas wanted to express his condolences to his grieving father and show him sympathy, but fearing his wrath he obeyed his command and said nothing.

"However, since such events, I have seen that neither of them were exactly who I thought they were; now I know that I had an unfaithful wife and a son that was not my own…"

He paused and though he showed no sign of emotion, Legolas both imagined and feared that inevitable sorrow had caused a lump in his throat.

"…I no longer know what to think" he finished. He certainly had no intention of dishonouring the dead any more so than they already had been.

He continued: "It seems that everyone around me is traitorous and willing to betray me – I know not where the blame lies and the dagger sinks deeper when even my own son does not grant me his trust. I would ask you now if you trust me, as you have changed since the death of your brother, but I do not wish to know".

Now Legolas was truly fighting with himself not to speak, he was so desperate to prove his father wrong and speak from his heart. But still, not going against his father's wishes, he remained silent.

"I cannot forgive you for what you have done, nor will I ever forgive any of those who betrayed me when my back was turned…but you are still my son and you are the only family I have left now".

There Thranduil finished.

"Now you may speak" he said quietly, "or you may go, both are fine with me".

A long silence followed as Legolas stood deep in thought, woods falling dead on his tongue. Only now did he see just how hurt Thranduil was by all of this, he must feel like he had no-one left by his side at all.

He began speaking very cautiously, but soon words flowed from his heart:

"_Ada_, I do not know what to say, these last two days have been so – so shocking and surreal. Nothing I can do or say can change or heal the past".

"I speak truthfully when I say that I am sorry about Mother – not only because I was partly responsible, but also because my reaction was…I forgot I was not the only one hurt and upset by what we saw. And I can and will never be sorry enough for Eleyond's death – that image and memory will haunt me for the rest of my life, but you must know that I dared not tell you the truth out of childish fear, never a lack of trust".

Legolas pondered over his next words. Thranduil remained silent.

"I also speak the truth when I say that I could not have asked for a better or a more admirable father – to have carried on after everything you've been through, to have fought, to have maintained your kingdom in such treacherous times and to continue to do so…"

"Enough" interjected Thranduil bluntly.

Legolas stopped instantly and silence reigned once again. What was interesting between the two men, standing alone in the spacious hall, was that although neither one of them spoke (principally because neither knew what to say next), both of them had bravely opened their hearts to one another in a way that neither of them would do normally, which although they were both hurting and they both suffered from past traumas, lack of trust and betrayals showed profound emotions that they could never verbally express – Thranduil's deep love for his only son and Legolas' humbling respect for his royal father.

Before leaving (as Legolas could not imagine what else his father would have him do), Legolas took one final brave step to show his father of his unbending love and loyalty – he walked slowly forwards and placed his hand on his father's strong, solid shoulder.

"Thank you, Father. Unless you have any further need of me, I will bid you goodnight".

For one horrible moment, Legolas thought he had felt his father flinch at his touch, but Thranduil remained silent and motionless as he had done throughout their entire meeting, only raising his arm to take a sip of wine from his goblet. After a few seconds of silent thought, Thranduil uttered in a deep voice laden with sorrow (and who knows what other emotions that a man such as he would never dare show):

"You may go".

Legolas bowed a little behind his father and walked away towards the large doors, but not before tightening his grip on his father's shoulder ever so slightly before finally letting go – it appeared that all possible words had been said. There was no compromise between the two - there was no exaggeration or lie when Thranduil had sworn not to forgive his son for his dreadful (though accidental) action and Legolas knew that many of the wounds that had been reopened would take some time to close if ever they were to heal, but as the open doors allowed Legolas to leave the Hall that was once again silent save for the constant crackling of the fire and he walked back to his chambers, he wondered to himself where they would all go from here, what would change and what they would learn from all of us, because as they had all been warned, none of them would ever forget.


	13. Chapter 13

Here is a brief outline of the events that followed from those fateful days of revelation, as told by personal accounts and from those who witnessed it:

Although their relationship had been slightly altered by the secrets that had been unveiled, the lives of Thranduil and Legolas changed very little; Thranduil continued to rule as King of Mirkwood in very much the same way as he had always done – he stood alone as an impressive authoritative figure in a time of great uncertainty and doubt as the darkness grew, yet he was ever surrounded by the support of his people, his soldiers who were willing to die for him and their homeland, and his son Legolas, who swore to forever stand by his father and King as well as his love Anié, who would soon become his wife.

The morning after the day they had returned, Anié rose to discover that Maeglin, her closest friend, had already departed without reason or a goodbye and Anié's heart was filled with sadness as she feared that he may never return and that may be the last time she ever saw him. However, before the next summer Maeglin made a surprise return to the palace of Mirkwood to announce that having made amends with the woman who had devoted her heart so selflessly to him, he and Mellimeldisiel were to be married and he extended his heart-felt invitation to Anié and the Prince. Anié was very happy to have Maeglin back as her friend but she was delighted for his new-found happiness and Maeglin equally so.

As for Anié herself, she could not help but do some research on the _ifanc gwanath_ mysteries and she was inevitably and undeniably hurt and upset by the realities she unearthed, but through the comfort of those around her (such as Legolas and her other close friends) and her own reasoning, she learnt that although she could not change the past or take away the pains of those who had suffered, she could still lead a good life and help those around her now she was older and free from her father's grasp.

However, still to this day she is haunted by the tunnel's last words to her – 'but you still did it', a message she will never escape. In all the group's different circumstances, one thing they all learnt was the same: the experience forced them to question where blame truly lay in each of their situations, for truly there is no smoke without the fire. Who was to blame and who was innocent, who deserved to be accused and who forgiven, when should secrets be kept and when should the truth be told, who deserved life and for whom was it an unworthy a gift – these were questions and debates each of them individually wrangled with, and would continue to do so for the rest of their lives.


End file.
